Search

Maranello Paddock wrote that Lewis Hamilton had formed a team of engineers at Ferrari that included people outside the historical circle of the Scuderia. According to the post, sources close to the driver described a method different from the usual routine, which relied on his feedback to better identify the car's problems and the priorities to address. The seven-time world champion was also said to have been recruited to help evolve working methods, thanks to his experience in winning teams and his influence. His approach reportedly elicited mixed reactions within the team. The post estimated that the group formed around Hamilton constituted the strongest core of this approach, but the next step was to broaden the consensus. It claimed that Hamilton had leeway to analyze the functioning of the team that Fernando Alonso had not benefited from and that Sebastian Vettel had even less. Carlos Sainz had reportedly established a methodical dialogue with the engineers. According to the post, Hamilton could bring a different experience and contribute to change, a mission that would have been implicit from his arrival. Maranello Paddock also wrote that Charles Leclerc, who had spent his entire career at Ferrari, did not have the same external benchmarks and often had to compensate on track for unresolved issues. However, the post indicated that Leclerc had moved closer to his teammate's perspective, which he found interesting. It was estimated that this convergence could strengthen the drivers' demands if their different approaches led them to face the same difficulties. According to the post, Hamilton's recent statements reflected this evolution: he still wanted changes but had to convince the management to accept new technical practices, using arguments, evidence, and a broader consensus. Maranello Paddock added that he needed to prioritize internal dialogue and avoid putting pressure on Frédéric Vasseur. Discussions about the future of the director could have complicated the process, while support for Vasseur could, according to the post, help continue the changes already underway. Finally, Maranello Paddock called Hamilton's podium finish in Sepang an encouraging sign and estimated that his influence would depend on the ability to extend the method developed with his engineers to the entire team. The post referred to an article by Giuly Duchessa for more information. https://t.co/lzVgcJhYJp) #Ferrari #Hamilton #F1 (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

Ultraviolence has knocked on the doors of high schools. Sébastien Lecornu promised a "complete normalization of schedules to allow each management team, each principal" to organize this moment, the head of government detailed in the chamber. #Lycées #Démocratie #Mobilisation (translated)

Permanente Revolution reported that in Épinay-sur-Seine, teachers, high school students, and railway workers formed a procession after passing by Feyder high school. The mobilized workers and students were heading to the station to join a demonstration at République. https://t.co/6lLXHwWkSW #Manifestation #Éducation #Solidarité (translated)

Pat Laliberté, from La Tribune du peuple, wrote that Duhaime had entered history and Parliament. He recalled that the last general election in which the historical Conservative Party of Quebec had elected members under its name was on November 25, 1935. These elected officials served until 1936, the year the party dissolved and merged to form the Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis. Laliberté added that, excluding the defectors and changes of allegiance during the mandate, such as those of Claire Samson or Maïté Blanchette Vézina, no member had been elected under the banner of the Conservative Party of Quebec since 1935. #Histoire #Politique #Québec (translated)

The services of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu directly accused La France insoumise of being "at the maneuver" with "its ultra-left proxies," saying they rely in particular on a note from the intelligence department of the Paris police prefecture. #MobilisationEtudiante #FranceInsoumise #ViolencesUrbaines (translated)

🚨Patient and resident safety: the 2026-2028 roadmap details its 3 transverse objectives, 5 axes, and 26 actions. 📒 Improving the safety of patients and residents: the national roadmap 2026-2028 ✍️ Ministry of Health, Families, Autonomy, and People with Disabilities — General Directorate for Health Care Offer (DGOS) 🤝 Teamwork, reporting of serious adverse events, feedback, the role of the patient and their loved ones: what continues and what is new. Audio Capsules on Health Practices 🎙️🎥 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4HGygys5YM Analysis of Health Practices and link to the source ℹ️➕ https://www.pratiquesensante.com/blog/pratiques-15/ameliorer-la-securite-des-patients-et-des-residents-la-feuille-de-route-nationale-2026-2028-6231 📌 The document aims to make existing safety mechanisms more accessible and promote a shared safety culture (p. 2). It allows for the identification of the tools and approaches it presents as existing (SAED guide, PACTE program, HAS non-technical skills reference framework, operating room checklist, "Patient Challenge") and those that are announced (reporting portal toolbox, guides, plans). It also provides the schedule for the next two safety culture measurement campaigns (2027 and 2028) and actions concerning nursing homes, primary care, and urban settings, as well as patients, residents, and their loved ones. #️⃣ #healthpractices #PatientSafety #QualityOfCare #SafetyCulture #SeriousAdverseEvents #Feedback #Teamwork #NursingHomes #pratiquesensante #SécuritéDesPatients #QualitéDesSoins #CultureDeSécurité #EIGS #RetourDExpérience #TravailEnÉquipe #EHPAD (translated)

We just arrested a Chinese foreign agent at LAX attempting to depart for China.Wanying Zhang, aka “Heather,” 34, of Irvine, was arrested today by @FBILosAngeles on a federal complaint charging her with acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China.According to the affidavit, Zhang traveled to Seattle in 2025 and, at the direction of PRC officials, surveilled a close relative of a Taiwanese government official, sending photos, videos, and license plate information to those officials.She coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection. She never notified the Attorney General she was acting for a foreign government, a federal offense.She will appear in federal court in Los Angeles tomorrow for her initial appearance. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. #FBI #Espionaje #Taiwán

Gabrielle Cathala stated that France Télévisions had considered entrusting sensitive data about its viewers' political preferences to an Israeli company, whose CEO develops and markets online political targeting tools. She indicated that the group had backed down after being informed of the publication of a Mediapart article and asked its management to explain immediately. https://t.co/2cg0oVeewn #France #Médias #Politique (translated)

We just arrested a Chinese foreign agent at LAX attempting to depart for China.Wanying Zhang, aka “Heather,” 34, of Irvine, was arrested today by @FBILosAngeles on a federal complaint charging her with acting as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China. According to the affidavit, Zhang traveled to Seattle in 2025 and, at the direction of PRC officials, surveilled a close relative of a Taiwanese government official, sending photos, videos, and license plate information to those officials.She coordinated the trip with an associate and used tradecraft to avoid detection. She never notified the Attorney General she was acting for a foreign government, a federal offense.She will appear in federal court in Los Angeles tomorrow for her initial appearance. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. #Κίνα #Ταϊβάν #FBI

Pierre Barnérias expressed concern about the disappearance of Professor Fourtillan, whom he described as being 81 years old and then 82 years old. He stated that Fourtillan had been untraceable since June 2026, that he had not appeared at his trial nor at the hearing on October 1 where he was sentenced to four years in prison, and that an arrest warrant had been issued. Barnérias recalled that Fourtillan had been involuntarily hospitalized in a psychiatric facility in Ajaccio in December 2025. According to the information he mentioned, Fourtillan's children had requested this hospitalization out of concern for him. Barnérias said he had not found the date of his discharge and questioned the circumstances of his disappearance. He also indicated that Fourtillan was being prosecuted for organizing unauthorized clinical trials on nearly 400 people, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients. The author compared the sentence to what he presented as millions of healthy victims caused by the Covid vaccine. He also mentioned Fourtillan's participation in the film *Hold-Up* and the deaths or withdrawal from public life of several people associated with the film, while noting that this proved nothing. Barnérias said he hoped that Fourtillan was alive and would be found quickly. #Justice #Santé #Disparition (translated)

Press Briefs reported that, according to an investigation by Mediapart, France Télévisions had considered entrusting Terrific, an Israeli company, with an interaction tool intended for viewers of the political show "L’Heure de vérité," scheduled for the 2027 presidential election. The tool would have also allowed for the collection of sensitive data on the political preferences of millions of French people, including users of the Franceinfo website. According to the account by Press Briefs, the CEO of Terrific had co-founded a company specializing in online political profiling and targeting, raising internal concerns about data protection and a risk of foreign interference. An employee of public broadcasting reportedly believed that a "French Cambridge Analytica scandal" had been narrowly avoided. Press Briefs also indicated that Mediapart reported that the contract had been established without a call for bids, even though an internal solution existed, and that the data protection officer had initially been unable to review the contract. Despite the alerts, management reportedly maintained the project before abandoning it, officially citing cybersecurity reasons, a few days after learning of the impending publication of the investigation. https://t.co/j1gM9yINvy #présidentielle #données #ingérence (translated)