Though Russia's influence in Africa is still minute compared to that of the United States, China and France, the RT broadcaster and the Sputnik news agency present a key element of the country's "African toolkit," a joint study by the French Institute of Geopolitics and George Washington University said
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th July, 2021) Though Russia's influence in Africa is still minute compared to that of the United States, China and France, the RT broadcaster and the Sputnik news agency present a key element of the country's "African toolkit," a joint study by the French Institute of Geopolitics and George Washington University said.
The research claims that even though Moscow's influence on the continent is not comparable to that of China and the West, it seeks to create "an alternative pole" in the region.
"This article analyzes two key components of Russia's African toolkit: its media outlets such as RT and Sputnik, which have managed to impose themselves on the African media landscape, and its entrepreneurs of influence, in charge of influence campaigns of different scopes," the study's abstract reads.
In particular, RT and Sputnik have managed to attract more African users than other popular local media outlets or international media such as RFL and the BBC, according to the research.
However, it went on, the success of the growing Russian influence on the African continent is attributed to "the appropriation of its informational content by African actors with their own political agendas," rather than promoting the legitimacy of its political model or foreign policy among African audiences.
