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"materializes the will of the President of the Republic to sustain the operational and technical credibility of the nuclear forces" The launch was "planned long in advance" and "materializes the will of the President of the Republic to sustain the operational and technical credibility of the nuclear forces," said Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin on X. #Missile #DissuasionNucléaire #EmmanuelMacron (translated)

Fernando Nazzari, the last former Goodyear worker, has died at the age of 84 from lung cancer after working with asbestos gloves, while his family seeks justice in the trial accusing the company of negligence regarding working conditions and exposure to toxic substances. #Giustizia #Amianto #Goodyear (translated)

The operation of the Polish aviation in response to Russia's missile attacks on Ukraine has been completed, and no violations of the airspace of the Republic of Poland have been reported, while also thanking Sweden for its support in ensuring security. #Ukraina #Rosja #obronaPowietrzna (translated)

Nigeria – how pro-Russian influence networks sell military rule as the answer When Nigerians took to the streets in August 2024 to protest soaring living costs and frustration with government, some demonstrations acquired an unexpected symbol: the Russian flag. In Kano, Kaduna and other northern cities, protesters were filmed carrying Russian colours and calling for Moscow’s intervention. Some demanded a military takeover. What initially looked like an unusual expression of anger has since become part of a much larger picture. A September 2026 assessment by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies describes Nigeria as a major target of overlapping foreign information operations, with Russia the most active external actor in its information space. The report does not identify a single centrally controlled campaign. Instead, it maps an ecosystem in which genuine dissatisfaction over insecurity, corruption and living standards is repeatedly redirected towards a broader proposition: democratic government has failed, while the military-led regimes of the Sahel offer a more effective alternative. Turning a real protest into a pro-Russian message The clearest example emerged during the 2024 #EndBadGovernance protests. Nigerian investigative reporting found that a Kano-based TikTok influencer with more than 100,000 followers had been paid through a Telegram channel associated with African Initiative, a Moscow-based media operation linked by researchers to Russian influence activity in Africa. The influencer said the channel supplied photographs, videos and talking points for redistribution on TikTok and Instagram. Among the messages provided were phrases such as “Putin please come and save Nigeria” and “The army is the answer for Nigeria”. Influencers were encouraged to use Hausa-language hashtags including #Zangazanga – “protest” – alongside references to Putin and Russia. Investigators identified 38 accounts circulating similar pro-Russian and pro-military narratives during the demonstrations. Russian flags subsequently appeared among protesters in several northern cities. This does not mean the protests themselves were created by Russia. They were driven by genuine economic and political grievances, and Nigerian protesters gave different reasons for carrying Russian flags. The important feature of the influence activity was precisely that it did not need to manufacture the original anger. It could attach a geopolitical message to an existing domestic crisis. From frustration to the idea of military government The narrative fits a wider pattern seen across West Africa. Russia has developed close relations with the military governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, while pro-Russian media ecosystems routinely portray those states as examples of sovereignty, stability and resistance to Western influence. Nigeria, by contrast, has remained under constitutional civilian government since 1999. Africa Center researchers say information networks targeting Nigerians increasingly contrast these two models. Recurring messages depict elections as wasteful or predetermined, civilian institutions as incapable of protecting citizens and military governments as more decisive on security and development. Some content portrays the Sahelian juntas as delivering better roads, lower prices and stronger security even where available evidence points to continuing or worsening instability. Language is central to the strategy. Hausa is spoken across northern Nigeria and neighbouring Niger, allowing political narratives to travel across borders that are far less important online than they are on maps. HumAngle documented efforts involving Nigerien state-linked actors to cultivate Hausa-speaking journalists and distribute material favourable to Niger’s junta and hostile to France and Western influence. The Russian and Sahelian-junta information ecosystems are not identical, but their narratives frequently reinforce one another. Fake journalists inside real Nigerian media The campaign environment extends beyond social media. A 2026 investigation by Graphika and Code for Africa identified 44 ghost reporters and fake experts whose identities were used to place Russia-aligned narratives in African media. Thirty-eight were assessed with high confidence to be fabricated. Their articles or quotations appeared across 138 websites and were amplified by at least 113 Facebook accounts and Pages. Nigeria was one of the most heavily targeted countries. According to the Africa Center’s analysis of the research, Daily Post Nigeria carried 39 articles involving 14 identified ghost authors. Once published by a genuine Nigerian outlet, such material could then be cited by other websites, social-media accounts or even Russian official channels as though it had originated independently in Africa. This is information laundering rather than simple propaganda: the most valuable asset being borrowed is the credibility of the local newsroom. Generative AI added another layer. OpenAI and Meta separately disrupted a Russia-origin network that produced Africa-focused political content and operated Facebook Pages posing as local media organisations. One fabricated commentator, “Dr Manuel Godsin”, was presented as a European-trained geopolitical expert although investigators found no evidence supporting his academic biography. ChatGPT had been used to generate articles under the persona’s name, while Meta removed 37 Facebook accounts and 29 Pages connected to the broader network. Different networks, similar strategic direction It would be misleading to merge all these activities into a single Russian command structure. The African Initiative-linked influencer campaign, the ghost-reporter network and the AI-enabled operation disrupted by OpenAI and Meta were uncovered separately and used different infrastructure. Public evidence does not demonstrate that every actor reported to the same organisation. What connects them is a recurring set of themes and methods: portraying Western partnerships as exploitative, presenting Russia as an alternative security partner, amplifying failures of civilian government, and giving military-led rule greater legitimacy. Investigative reporting on leaked Russian documents has meanwhile described a much wider influence apparatus operating across Africa, involving political consultants, paid journalists, influencers and locally tailored campaigns intended to reduce Western influence and expand Moscow’s position. The underlying technique is less about inventing dissatisfaction than redirecting it. Nigeria faces real security threats, economic pressure and public frustration. Influence operators do not need to persuade Nigerians that those problems exist. They need only influence the explanation for why they exist – and which political model appears to offer the answer. That is what makes the Nigerian case significant. The most effective propaganda does not necessarily introduce a completely false reality. It takes a real crisis and changes where the audience is encouraged to look for the solution. Sources Africa Center for Strategic Studies — The Raging Information Battle in Nigeria https://africacenter.org/spotlight/the-raging-information-battle-in-nigeria/ Graphika — Umbrae Ex Machina https://www.graphika.com/reports/umbrae-ex-machina OpenAI — Operation “No Bell” https://openai.com/index/disrupting-malicious-uses-of-ai-no-bell/ TheCable — Ghost reporters in African media https://www.thecable.ng/ghost-reporters-how-fabricated-african-voices-carried-pro-russia-narratives/ HumAngle — Nigeria Is Facing an Information War in Its Own Language https://www.humanglemedia.com/nigeria-is-facing-an-information-war-in-its-own-language DAIDAC / CJID — Russian influence during #EndBadGovernance https://daidac.thecjid.org/how-telegram-tiktok-aided-russian-disinformation-that-led-to-incarceration-of-nigerian-minors/ FactCheckHub — How Nigeria’s hunger protest took a radical turn https://factcheckhub.com/from-economic-protests-to-coup-agitation-how-nigerias-hunger-march-took-a-radical-turn/ News24 — Fake Kremlin-linked analyst planted stories in African media https://www.news24.com/southafrica/news/ai-expert-exposed-fake-kremlin-linked-analyst-planted-stories-in-african-media-20260318-0560 Vanguard — AI ‘expert’ exposed https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/03/ai-expert-exposed-fake-kremlin-linked-analyst-planted-stories-in-african-media/ Africa Confidential — How Moscow wages social media war https://www.africa-confidential.com/article/id/15961/how-moscow-wages-social-media-war Keywords #DISINFORMED #Episode15 #Nigeria #Russia #RussianInfluence #RussianDisinformation #Africa #WestAfrica #Disinformation #InformationWarfare #InfluenceOperations #ForeignInterference #FIMI #Propaganda #MilitaryRule #MilitaryGovernment #Democracy #PoliticalManipulation #NarrativeManipulation #AfricanInitiative #EndBadGovernance #Hausa #LocalInfluencers #GhostReporters #FakeExperts #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #AIPersonas #SyntheticMedia #AIPropaganda #Astroturfing #SocialMediaManipulation #Telegram #TikTok #DigitalInfluence #SourceLaundering #NarrativeLaundering #MediaManipulation #Sahel #Geopolitics #OSINT #WRLD

The author wrote that the pogrom on October 7, 2023 marked in France the beginning of a wave of hatred and a political operation led by La France insoumise (LFI), which he described as despicable and effective. He also cited a poll from Ifop published a few weeks after the attacks and mentioned the figure of 45% among Muslims. https://t.co/rRm49sf6UI #France #société #haine #FR (translated)

The author wrote that Russia’s war against Europe was escalating and that recent operations had become difficult to track. They claimed the Kremlin was sending armed, masked men to threaten Latvian troops while trying to push immigrants and Russian spies into Europe, and described Europe as a “boiling frog.” https://t.co/fnWkVrjZ7I #Russia #Europe #Geopolitics #RU #LV #EU

The spokesperson for Anshar Allah announced that the organization attacked King Khalid Airport in Riyadh with drones. He added that they also carried out two military operations using missiles and drones, targeting the airport in Abha and a base in Khamis Mushait. #wojna #drony #BliskiWschód #SA #QA (translated)

"There is no doubt that a massive internal security check is currently being conducted within MI6. Everything shared with a partner who was exceptionally trusted is being reviewed to determine if anything could have compromised operations or individuals connected to MI6," said Matthew Dunn, a former MI6 intelligence officer, adding that British services will thoroughly examine everything shared with the BND and assess potential consequences. #špijunaža #obavještajneusluge #skandal (translated)

A couple of Chinese citizens in Valencia is fighting for their freedom after spending five months in provisional detention, questioning their arrest in the 'Karasu Operation' and claiming a transcription error by the UDEF related to a cryptocurrency wallet. #OperaciónKarasu #blanqueodecapitales #criptomonedas (translated)

The podcast Operation Permanent Deputation analyzes how the Spanish Government attempts to validate housing decrees after the dissolution of Parliament and the call for elections, using a strategy in which the Permanent Deputation allows for different majorities. #DiputaciónPermanente #Vivienda #Elecciones2026 (translated)

The Operational Command of the Armed Forces reported that due to the activity of Russian long-range aviation, which was carrying out strikes on the territory of Ukraine, military aircraft operations in Polish airspace have begun. The command stated that it has activated the necessary forces and resources, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems are at readiness. The actions, as emphasized, were preventive in nature and aimed at protecting airspace, especially near threatened areas. The command added that it was monitoring the situation and its subordinate forces remained ready to respond. #Ukraina #Bezpieczeństwo #Lotnictwo (translated)

Ledarsidorna.se wrote that the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, had not been improvised. According to the site, exercises, weapon caches, and a tunnel system that later Israeli assessments estimated to be hundreds of kilometers long had been built up over at least a decade. The site questioned to what extent it could be substantiated that the work had been financed with aid and why the expansion was hardly visible in the news coverage from Gaza during the same period. Ledarsidorna.se specifically pointed out Sveriges Radio's foreign correspondent Cecilia Uddén and wrote that she had questions to answer. #svpol #Israel #Hamas #Gaza (translated)

A criminal group connected to Mikhail P., the director of private universities in Poland, was engaged in illegal activities involving bringing in foreigners based on fake documents and selling counterfeit diplomas, and their illegal operations continued until September 2023. #przestępczość #lewedyplomy #Polska (translated)

The operation Vilkatis is intended to reduce the increase in the number of illegal border crossers at Latvia's eastern border; it has been extended until December 31st, as there has been increased pressure and activity from illegal migration organizers lately. #nelegāla_migrācija #robežsardze #drošība (translated)

Kulbergs expressed outrage over LatRailNet's inaction regarding amendments to the Railway Law, which aim to accelerate the review of infrastructure charges for Russian grain transit to ensure timely fee increases, while emphasizing risks related to cargo flow and compliance with EU transport policy. #DzelzceļaLikums #UkrainasAtbalsts #GrauduTranzīts (translated)

The Pedrosa Channel reported that the Deliberative Council of Vasco approved the proposal from Almirante Participações to take control of the club's SAF. According to the channel, the company of Marcos Faria Lamacchia would hold 90% of the New SAF, while the associative Vasco would retain 10% and its special rights. The channel added that the Council also approved the necessary statutory amendment, but the operation would still depend on the approval of the General Assembly of members to be completed. #Vasco #CanaldoPedrosa #Vasco #Futebol #SAF (translated)