
<p class="has-drop-cap">The Russian trolls are back — and once again trying to poison the political atmosphere in the United States ahead of this year’s elections.</p>



<p>But this time they are better disguised and more targeted, harder to identify and track. And they have found an unlikely home, far from Russia itself.</p>



<p>In 2016, much of the trolling aimed at the US election operated from an office block in St. Petersburg, Russia.</p>



<p>A months-long CNN investigation has discovered that, in this election cycle, at least part of the campaign has been outsourced — to trolls in the West African nations of Ghana and Nigeria.</p>



<p>They have focused almost exclusively on racial issues in the US, promoting black empowerment and often displaying anger towards white Americans.</p>



<p>The goal, according to experts who follow Russian disinformation campaigns, is to inflame divisions among Americans and provoke social unrest.</p>



<p>The language and images used in the posts — on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram — are sometimes graphic.</p>



<p>One of the Ghanaian trolls — @africamustwake — linked to a story from a left-wing conspiracy website and commented on Facebook: “America’s descent into a fascist police state continues.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://i1.wp.com/occupygh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/200312133253-troll-post-super-169-1.jpg?fit=696%2C392&;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-45642"/><figcaption>Russia Recruits Ghanaians &; Nigerians To Meddle In US Elections</figcaption></figure>



<p>Referring to a Republican state senator, the post continued: “Someone needs to take that Senator out.”</p>



<p>Facebook and Twitter had already been looking into some of the troll accounts when CNN notified the two companies of our investigation.</p>



<p>In a statement Thursday, Facebook said that its “subsequent assessment benefited from our collaboration with a team of journalists at CNN” and it had “removed 49 Facebook accounts, 69 Pages and 85 Instagram accounts for engaging in foreign interference.”</p>



<p>“The accounts — operating out of Ghana and Nigeria and which we can reliably associate with Russia — attempted to sow discord by engaging in conversations about social issues, like race and civil rights.”</p>



<p>The activity uncovered by CNN had striking similarities to the Russian troll campaign of 2016, which created hundreds of accounts designed to pass as American.</p>



<p>The operation’s headquarters were in a walled compound in a quiet residential district near the Ghanaian capital, Accra. It had been rented by a small nonprofit group that called itself Eliminating Barriers for the Liberation of Africa (EBLA).</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://cdn.occupygh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/200311120435-ghana-troll-farm-exterior-super-169.jpg?fit=696%2C392&;ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-45643"/><figcaption>This building was used as the headquarters for Ghanaians posing as Americans and posting on social media.</figcaption></figure>



<p>This building was used as the headquarters for Ghanaians posing as Americans and posting on social media.</p>



<p>Sixteen Ghanaians, mostly in their 20s, worked at the compound; some lived rent-free in a nearby apartment.</p>



<p>They were issued mobile phones, not laptops, and worked around a table. The EBLA trolls communicated as a group through the encrypted Telegram app, which is rarely used in Ghana.</p>



<p>The man running EBLA calls himself Mr. Amara and claims to be South African. In reality, he is a Ghanaian who lives in Russia and his name is Seth Wiredu.</p>



<p>Several of EBLA’s workers said they had heard Wiredu speak Russian. Late last year, Wiredu extended EBLA’s activities to Nigeria, filling at least eight positions, including a project manager to help with “social media management.”</p>



<p>CNN uncovered the postings for two of the jobs, and a source in Nigeria confirmed that the employees shared office space in Lagos.</p>



<p>The Nigerian accounts posted predominantly on US issues too.</p>



<p>Ghanaian security sources subsequently told CNN that all of EBLA’s funding had come from Russia.</p>




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<p>Source: <em><strong><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/12/world/russia-ghana-troll-farms-2020-ward/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">CNN</a></strong></em></p>
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Russia Recruits Ghanaians & Nigerians To Meddle In US Elections
Russia Recruits Ghanaians & Nigerians To Meddle In US Elections
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