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Mali – a war where some of the people fighting do not exist In Mali's war, an apparently simple question is becoming increasingly difficult to answer: who exactly is speaking to us? A real person? A rebel organisation? A Russian influence operation? A supporter of the military junta? Or somebody who has never existed at all? In September 2026, the Dakar-based Timbuktu Institute published Des algorithmes en guerre, a report examining the use of generative artificial intelligence by actors involved in the Malian conflict. Its researchers describe the country as a potential laboratory for AI-assisted information warfare. Separatist networks are deploying synthetic fighters on TikTok. Jihadist propagandists are experimenting with AI-generated imagery. Pro-government accounts are producing large quantities of content celebrating the Malian armed forces. Russia, meanwhile, operates the most developed influence infrastructure of all: pseudo-media outlets, inauthentic accounts, AI-generated text, images and video, and systems designed to artificially amplify their visibility. Artificial intelligence did not create Mali's conflict. The war has been under way since 2012, and its participants have always fought with propaganda as well as weapons. What AI has changed is the economics of that struggle. A new “witness”, commentator, fighter, poster or video can now be produced in minutes. For audiences watching from a phone, distinguishing between genuine documentation, propaganda and material created entirely by an algorithm is becoming progressively harder. Azzghim – the fighter who cannot be killed or interrogated The most striking case documented by the Timbuktu Institute involves accounts associated with supporters of the Azawad Liberation Front, or FLA, a Tuareg separatist movement fighting the authorities in Bamako. A figure called “Azzghim” appeared on TikTok. He looks like a Tuareg fighter and regularly features in videos attacking Mali's government and Russia's Africa Corps, commenting on the conflict and promoting the cause of Azawad. There is one problem: Azzghim does not exist. Analysis of the videos identified anomalies characteristic of generative AI, including unnatural body movements, visual inconsistencies, irregular colouring and problems with audio synchronisation. According to the Timbuktu Institute, Azzghim is a synthetic character being used as the digital face of a political narrative. The propaganda advantages are considerable. An organisation no longer needs to expose a real spokesman. A synthetic personality can be designed to look exactly as its creators require, speak the appropriate language and appeal to a particular audience. Different characters could potentially be created for younger viewers, traditional communities or different ethnic and social groups. There is another advantage: a synthetic spokesman cannot be arrested, identified or interrogated. Researchers also identified accounts amplifying the material. At the time of the study, TikTok account @tawri.n.azawad had around 207,000 followers and was almost entirely devoted to publishing or repackaging content involving Azzghim. Another account, @asnan831, used a similar synthetic teenage character. An important distinction is necessary. Researchers describe these profiles as belonging to supporters or individuals associated with the FLA. The available evidence does not establish that every account is part of an operation centrally directed by the Front's leadership. The information effect, however, remains significant: a digital community can be constructed around the Azawad cause in which some of the apparent participants may not be real people at all. The jihadists are learning too The picture is different for Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, the al-Qaeda-affiliated coalition that has become one of the most powerful armed groups in the Sahel. Its confirmed use of generative AI remains considerably less sophisticated. In June 2026, JNIM's Az-Zallaqa media apparatus published AI-generated posters promoting material about previous attacks. The images showed fighters in combat but contained familiar generative artefacts: buildings and vegetation merging unnaturally, blurred details and unnaturally smooth surfaces. More important than JNIM's current capabilities is what AI could add to an already sophisticated propaganda apparatus. The organisation already tailors communications to different audiences. UN reporting has documented its use of media channels for broader propaganda while other outlets increasingly distribute material in local languages, including Bambara. Generative AI could dramatically reduce the cost of this strategy, translating material into Fulfulde, Hausa, Zarma or Tamasheq, generating synthetic dubbing and producing multiple versions of the same message. The Timbuktu Institute also considers the future possibility of AI chatbots being used to personalise recruitment. That should not be presented as a capability JNIM has already demonstrated. At present, it is a risk scenario rather than a confirmed operation. Russia has the most sophisticated machine At the other end of the spectrum lies Russia's influence ecosystem. Here, AI is not an isolated experiment but another component of an infrastructure previously developed by Wagner-linked networks, Russian media operations and influence organisations operating across Africa. After Wagner's withdrawal from Mali in 2025, its military role was taken over by the Russian state-controlled Africa Corps. The information infrastructure evolved alongside it. Of particular importance is African Initiative, which presents itself as a news agency but has been identified by France's VIGINUM, the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the European External Action Service as an important component of Russia's newer influence architecture in Africa. One of the most interesting elements of this ecosystem is a network researchers call AI-Freak. The operation uses generative AI to produce text, images and videos, places them on fake or apparently independent news websites and distributes them through inauthentic accounts. This is supplemented by so-called Black Hat SEO – techniques intended to artificially increase the visibility of content in search engines. Elements of this infrastructure have previously been identified by Meta and OpenAI. In 2024, OpenAI disrupted Russian accounts using ChatGPT to generate articles and comments in English, French and Russian. Some of the French-language content targeted audiences in West Africa. In a later iteration of the operation, AI models were also used to draft scripts for short videos praising the Russian Africa Corps, translate them into French and generate descriptions optimised for social media. This illustrates an important difference between the Russian approach and Azzghim. The separatist ecosystem uses AI primarily to manufacture convincing digital personalities. The Russian model increasingly resembles an industrial production line: text, image, video, pseudo-news website, distribution account, search optimisation and additional channels amplifying the narrative. The objective is not merely to convince someone of a single claim. It is to occupy as much of the information environment as possible with narratives advantageous to Moscow: Russia as an effective security partner, the West as a neo-colonial aggressor, France as a source of instability and Russian forces as defenders of African sovereignty. Yet VIGINUM also warns against equating technological sophistication with actual impact. Some Russian influence channels still attract relatively small audiences. A sophisticated operation is not automatically a successful one. The junta is building its own digital reality Mali's military authorities operate within the same contested information environment. Since breaking with France and moving closer to Moscow, Bamako has increasingly restricted independent media space while promoting a narrative built around restored sovereignty, military success and the benefits of its Russian partnership. The Timbuktu Institute highlights the TikTok account @6tm_officiel. At the time of the study, it had more than 436,000 followers and published substantial amounts of AI-generated material presenting Mali's armed forces, the FAMa, and the Africa Corps in a favourable light. One video concerning the battle for Kidal accumulated around 4.7 million views. Again, attribution requires care. Researchers describe the account as being operated by an individual based in Bamako; they do not provide evidence that it is officially managed by the Malian government. It is better understood as part of a wider pro-government information ecosystem in which the boundaries between state communications, supporters and co-ordinated propaganda can be difficult to establish. The Africa Center for Strategic Studies has previously identified the military regimes in Mali and Burkina Faso as important sources of disinformation campaigns in West Africa. Recurring narratives target France, the United Nations, ECOWAS, human-rights organisations and independent media, while presenting criticism of the authorities as part of a foreign conspiracy. Generative AI allows such narratives to be produced faster, more cheaply and in far more variations. Everyone is fighting over a different version of the same war What makes Mali particularly revealing is that multiple actors are using similar technology for very different objectives. FLA-linked networks need digital faces capable of humanising the Azawad cause and attacking Russia's presence. JNIM needs propaganda material and increasingly localised communications. The pro-government ecosystem seeks to portray Mali's armed forces as victorious and reinforce the junta's legitimacy. Russia possesses the broadest infrastructure, in which AI is merely one component of a larger system involving media outlets, websites, local partners, social-media profiles and technical amplification. The result is a war taking place simultaneously in two realities. In the first, soldiers and civilians are killed, towns change hands and the army, separatists and jihadists fight for territory. In the second, every side is trying to determine what the first reality will look like on a smartphone screen. Generative AI does not need to create a perfect deepfake to be effective. It merely needs to increase the number of competing versions of events until an ordinary viewer can no longer easily determine which one deserves to be trusted. That is why Mali matters. It is not showing us the future of information warfare. It is showing us its present. One TikTok video may feature a real soldier. Another may feature a propagandist. A third may feature a fighter who has never existed. And all three can tell completely different stories about the same war. Sources Timbuktu Institute – Des algorithmes en guerre: Comment l'IA générative rebat les cartes du conflit malien https://timbuktu-institute.org/index.php/toutes-l-actualites/item/1731-rapport-des-algorithmes-en-guerre-comment-l-ia-generative-rebat-les-cartes-du-conflit-malien AfricaNews/AFP – “Mali's information war is increasingly being shaped by AI” https://www.africanews.com/2026/09/09/malis-information-war-is-increasingly-being-shaped-by-ai/ OpenAI – research on Russia-origin influence activity and Operation Stop News https://openai.com/index/disrupting-malicious-uses-of-ai-stop-news-2024/ VIGINUM / FCDO / EEAS – technical report on African Initiative and the AI-Freak network https://www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/files/files/Publications/20250612_TLP-CLEAR_VIGINUM_FCDO_EEAS_Technical_Report_African_Initiative_EN.pdf Africa Center for Strategic Studies – Mapping a Surge of Disinformation in Africa https://africacenter.org/spotlight/mapping-a-surge-of-disinformation-in-africa/ Timbuktu Institute – analysis of AI use by JNIM https://timbuktu-institute.org/index.php/toutes-l-actualites/item/1735-artificial-intelligence-a-new-propaganda-lever-for-jnim-in-mali?print=1&tmpl=component #Disinformation #Mali #Sahel #Africa #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #GenerativeAI #AIPropaganda #InformationWarfare #InfluenceOperations #Propaganda #Deepfakes #SyntheticMedia #Azawad #FLA #JNIM #AfricaCorps #Russia #RussianInfluence #TikTok #DigitalWarfare #MediaManipulation #WRLD

🚨🚨🔴🔵 OM-PSG : LE CUP PASSE À L’ACTION, ÇA BOUGE ! Saisi par l’avocat du CUP en référé-liberté, le Conseil d’État A FIXÉ UNE AUDIENCE ! ⚖️ La décision doit désormais intervenir suffisamment rapidement pour permettre, en cas d’issue favorable, d’organiser le déplacement des supporters parisiens au Vélodrome. Après 11 ANS d’interdiction, le CUP va jusqu’au bout pour défendre le retour des supporters parisiens à Marseille. ✊ ON ATTEND MAINTENANT LA DÉCISION ! 👀 #OMPSG #PSG #OMPSG #Football #Supporters

🚨 Amine Gouiri : "Les supporters dans le Vélodrome ? T'es dans une arène, ça fait énormément de bruit." [@ligue1plus] https://t.co/nbDMN7u2jd #Ligue1 #Football #Supporters

🚨🚨 𝗞𝗬𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗡 𝗠𝗕𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘́ 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗖 𝗗𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗩𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗘́𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗦𝗨𝗥 𝗟𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗡 𝗗'𝗢𝗥 !! 🌕 "À mon avis, c'est une bonne année pour le remporter. Mon meilleur atout, ce sont mes propres performances. Peu importe ce que je dis, le plus important pour moi, c'est que le Ballon d'Or retourne au Real Madrid. Il doit revenir au Bernabéu, aux supporters madrilènes, pour leur redonner la joie. Ils le méritent plus que quiconque." 🤍 (AS) #BallonDor #Mbappe #RealMadrid

LIONEL MESSI 🇦🇷 CONTINUE DONC D’ÉCRIRE SA CARRIÈRE LÉGENDAIRE… 🐐 ⚽️ 929 BUTS 🎯 424 PASSES DÉCISIVES 🌕 8 Ballons d’Or 🏆 49 TROPHÉES 👇 x10 LaLiga x8 Supercoupe d’Espagne x7 Copa del Rey x4 Champions League ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ x3 Supercoupe d’Europe x3 Coupe du monde des clubs x2 Ligue 1 x2 Copa América x1 Coupe du monde 🌍 x1 Finalissima x1 Médaille d’or olympique x1 Coupe du monde U20 x1 Trophée des Championnats x1 Leagues Cup x1 MLS Supporters’ Shield x1 Eastern Conference Championship x1 MLS Cup x1 Campeones Cup 🤩 #Messi #Football #Légende

Cuando Lionel Messi llegó a Estados Unidos, el Inter Miami no le ganaba nadie y era el PEOR EQUIPO de toda la MLS. Hoy, tan solo 3 años después, el club ya tiene ¡¡5 TROFEOS!! en sus vitrinas. Y sí, en este cambio radical en la institución, la piedra angular del proyecto fue el 10 argentino. Lionel Messi como jugador del Inter Miami: ➤ Inter Miami ganó la Leagues Cup con Lionel Messi siendo MVP y Bota de Oro. ➤ Inter Miami ganó la Supporters Shield con Lionel Messi siendo el MVP de la temporada. ➤ Inter Miami ganó el título de la Conferencia del Este con Lionel Messi siendo MVP y Bota de Oro del curso. ➤ Inter Miami ganó la MLS Cup con Lionel Messi siendo el MVP de los playoffs y de la final. ➤ Inter Miami ganó la Campeones Cup con Lionel Messi marcando, asistiendo y siendo MVP de la final. ¡Ah! Y, además, Lionel Messi ya es el máximo goleador (100) y máximo asistente histórico (56) de la institución de Florida. El campeón del mundo registra ¡¡100 GOLES, 56 ASISTENCIAS Y 5 TÍTULOS!! en 115 partidos disputados con el Inter Miami. Incluso en el tramo final de su carrera profesional, Lio fue capaz de transformar a una franquicia entera. EL MEJOR FICHAJE EN TODA LA HISTORIA DE LA MLS. #LionelMessi #InterMiami #MLS

🚨🚨 « 11 ANS D’INTERDICTIONS, ÇA SUFFIT !!! » 😤 Le Collectif Ultras Paris regrette chaque saison SON ABSENCE au Vélodrome pour Le Classique 👇🔴🔵 « Comme chaque année, nous sommes interdits de déplacement au Vélodrome. Mais cette fois, nous avons décidé de contester cette situation par la voie juridique. Nous demandons à notre avocat de saisir en procédure d’urgence le Conseil d’État, afin de contester l’interdiction ministérielle à venir et de demander l’annulation de l’arrêté préfectoral du 28 août 2026. Depuis 2015, six préfets se sont succédé, sans qu’aucun véritable dialogue ne soit instauré avec nous. Onze années d’interdictions répétées ne peuvent pas tenir lieu de dialogue. Cette fois, nous avons décidé d’utiliser tous les moyens de droit à notre disposition pour défendre notre liberté de déplacement et notre droit à soutenir notre club. Nous ne demandons aucun privilège. Nous demandons simplement que le droit soit respecté. Nous irons au Conseil d’État. COLLECTIF ULTRAS PARIS » 🗞️ communiqué #LibertéDeDéplacement #Supporters #Football

🚨 Bruno GENESIO 🇫🇷 sur l’ambiance mise par les supporters de Besiktas : « L'ambiance en Turquie 🇹🇷 ? On fait aussi ce métier pour vivre ce genre de moments. 🤩🏟️ Je me souviens d'un match ici, MES OREILLES S’EN SOUVENUES PENDANT QUELQUES JOURS ! Il y a BEAUCOUP DE RESPECT ! Ça doit nous galvaniser, nous donner envie qu'on est capables de se hisser au niveau des meilleures équipes. » 🎙️ conf. de presse via @RMCsport #Football #Besiktas #Turquie

🚨 Timothy Weah 🇺🇸 : « SI TU ES UN VRAI SUPPORTER DE L’OM, IL N’Y A PAS DE DÉSAMOUR. 💙🤍 Ça va aller. ON VIT UN MOMENT TRÈS DUR, MAIS ON TRAVAILLE TRÈS DUR. Le déclic arrive. On va continuer à pousser. IL FAUT RESTER COMME ÇA. Personnellement, j’ai beaucoup d’amour pour les supporters. C’est difficile aujourd’hui, MAIS IL Y A DEMAIN. » 🎙️ conf. de presse via @RMCsport #OM #Supporters #Football

🚨🚨 AXEL WITSEL ANNONCE PRENDRE SA RETRAITE INTERNATIONALE !! 💣💣 « Cette fois-ci, c’est la bonne. J’ai pris la décision de mettre un terme à ma carrière internationale. Il est temps de laisser la place aux jeunes et à la nouvelle génération. Ce fut une immense fierté d’avoir tout donné durant ces 18 années. Je n’aurais jamais imaginé accomplir autant lorsque j’ai commencé, à seulement 18 ans. On aura quand même vécu des moments incroyables ! Merci aux supporters. Merci à tous mes coéquipiers, à tous mes coachs et à toutes les personnes au sein de la fédération qui ont participé, de près ou de loin, à mon épanouissement durant toutes ces années. Bonne merde à l’équipe pour la suite. Je suis certain que son avenir sera brillant. I love you, Belgium. 🙏❤️🇧🇪 » (IG : axelwitsel28) #Retraite #Football #Belgique

🚨 OFFICIEL ! LA FÉDÉRATION SAOUDIENNE SANCTIONNE AL-TAAWOUN APRÈS LES CHANTS DES SUPPORTERS SUR DIOGO JOTA 🇵🇹👇 : 👉 Deux matchs de huis clos. ❌ 👉 Environ 23.000€ d’amende. 💰 https://t.co/hN5TUNtJsi #Football #SaudiArabia #Sport