According to Nicholas Leonard, at the end of the Cold War, the Russians lost their influence.
“It’s important to understand that the Soviet Union was a very influential entity in Africa during the Cold War. Instead, the West became a powerful partner for many African countries. However, over the years, they began to take this partnership for granted and thus they themselves gave Russia the opportunity to scale up its activities. As soon as discontent with France began to grow in Africa, the anti-French narrative about the despotism of the government immediately intensified. In certain regions, people began to believe that France is exploiting the African continent,” the guest noted.
He clarified that what they have to deal with is not exactly Fake News. There is an aspect of disinformation, and Russia is very good at using it to incite hatred. At the same time, they are not necessarily lying. They simply distort the real facts, and certain elements of the truth are shown in a different way.
