William Molinié 6:48 a.m., December 23, 2021

According to documents that Europe 1 obtained, the French intelligence services established and documented the discreet operations of influence of the private group Wagner on behalf of Moscow, in particular in Mali.

With two objectives: to legitimize its action in the countries where it is established and to facilitate its recruitment.

EUROPE INFO 1

No website or official social media account.

Wagner's digital footprint is almost non-existent.

And yet, the Russian group of private mercenaries is very much present in the information war which is being played out in Africa.

Documents that Europe 1 obtained attest that the intelligence services know perfectly well where to find the relays of the private military company, even if its sympathizers, even its members, have erased the traces of their membership on their profiles.

A shadow army in the service of Moscow which intends to legitimize the action of the Wagner group in the countries where it is established and to facilitate the recruitment of Russian-speaking mercenaries even though it is struggling to attract new troops.

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French soldiers photographed

At the top of the bill are the Telegram and VKontakte accounts - the Russian equivalent of Facebook - of "The reverse side of the medal". On Telegram, the account is now followed by more than 60,000 subscribers. And it gained 15,000 members between February and October. Every day, the account broadcasts to its Russian-speaking community images of Wagner's mercenaries in Africa, the Middle East or in the Donbass.

In addition to this showcase, the same pro-Wagner content is also broadcast on social networks "targeting the African population and run by local staff", write the editors of these documents.

This is the case, for example, with very active Central African avatars on Facebook, "very probably integrated into the Russian-influenced computer fight system".

In Bangui, in the country's capital, young people have even been paid by Russians to take photos of French soldiers and then distribute them on social networks.

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Propaganda films and t-shirts

For the past year, Wagner's actions have also been staged in films and cartoons, assimilating Russian mercenaries to heroes who protect local populations. This informational conquest is based on the production company which broadcast the film

Tourist

, considered as a propaganda operation supposed to promote the action of Russian "instructors" sent to the Central African Republic (CAR). Several mercenaries present in the country have also, according to our information, acted as extras in certain scenes.

The undermining work goes as far as flocking propaganda messages and computer graphics, produced by a structure linked to Yevgeny Prigogine - businessman at the head of Wagner, close to Vladimir Putin and at the origin of the factory in Russian trolls, the Internet Research Agency -, on T-shirts and distribute them to African populations.

As last February when, according to our information, the Russian mission in the Central African Republic went so far as to grant these clothes to the Bangui gendarmerie training center.

T-shirts translated into Sango language, the word "Wagner" having been replaced by "Russia".

A rigged survey on the political and security situation in Mali

This procedure, detected in RCA, was repeated.

And especially in Mali, since according to our information, one of the main protagonists and organizers of the establishment of Wagner in the country, followed very closely by the intelligence services, established two months ago with printers in order to launch printing pro-russian t-shirts.

Still according to these same documents, Evgueni Prigogine even goes so far as to manipulate public opinion by financing the "Foundation for the protection of national values".

In Mali, the organization published on September 28 a survey on the country's political and security situation.

It was carried out among a thousand Malians, "probably chosen for their pro-Russian tendency".

The editors continue: "The objective of this survey is to highlight a negative perception of Operation Barkhane and a massive support for the deployment of private military companies. And conclude:" Mali will probably remain a privileged target for the publication of pro content. Russian Federation, thus supporting the activity of the private military company in the country ".