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Massive online network spreading pro-UAE propaganda in Africa: Report

Thursday, 23 October 2025 5:05 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 23 October 2025 5:05 PM ]

A protester holding a megaphone and a sign stands behind banners that read "UAE Hands Off Sudan" and "UAE OUT OF SUDAN" during the demonstration in London, UK, in October 2024. (Photo by Getty Images)

A large-scale online network linked to the UAE has used stolen images of Somali women and influencers to spread fake content favoring the country and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, according to a report.

An investigation published by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on October 21 revealed that over 100 fake accounts on X, Facebook, and TikTok impersonated Somali Muslim women and influencers to target audiences across Africa, particularly the East African region.

It added that the network was used to “manipulate online discourse and conceal the UAE’s role in supporting RSF in Sudan.”

According to the investigation’s data analysis, these accounts published over 47,000 posts between January 2023 and September 2025, reaching more than 215 million users.

Using both real and AI-generated photos, the accounts posted synchronized multilingual content praising the UAE as a benevolent force in Somalia while attacking the Sudanese Armed Forces and defending the RSF.

“This character is not me. My images are being used, and I can't do anything to these people who are impersonating me,” one Somali influencer reportedly said.

The fake accounts posted content claiming that the Sudanese army had committed a massacre in the city of Al-Obeid. However, major international news outlets, as well as Sudan’s Beam Reports, found no verified evidence that any such attack took place.

The fabricated stories appeared in August, shortly after Sudanese media reported that the Sudanese Air Force had destroyed a UAE aircraft carrying foreign mercenaries, analysts said.

Disinformation researcher Marc Owen Jones described the accounts as “electronic puppets” forming part of a broader propaganda network advancing UAE foreign policy in Africa.

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Social media analyst Alessandro Accorsi said that such operations are often managed by private public relations firms contracted by political actors.

While the UAE denies the claims of providing financial or military support to the RSF, Sudanese officials continue to allege that Abu Dhabi supplies the group with funds and weapons through intermediary networks.

In April, Khartoum took legal action against the UAE at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for creating the "driving force" behind the ongoing "genocide" in Sudan. It demanded that the UAE halt its support to the RSF and make “full reparations,” including compensation to the victims of the war.

Later in May, Sudanese Defense Minister Yassin Ibrahim accused the UAE of violating Sudan’s sovereignty through its “proxy,” the RSF, and declared the country a “state of aggression.”

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