Memes and Social Media Disinformation Bolster Support for Burkina Faso’s Junta Leader

In a workshop on the outskirts of Lagos, auto body technician Kehinde Sanni carefully repairs dented fenders and applies fresh coats of paint to damaged vehicles. Despite never setting foot outside Nigeria, Sanni has developed an unexpected admiration for Burkina Faso’s military leader, Ibrahim Traore.

“Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni remarked, echoing a sentiment growing increasingly common across West Africa’s most populous nation.

Sanni’s views have been shaped not by firsthand experience but through a digital lens—a constant stream of viral content portraying Traore as a revolutionary figure standing against Western influence and championing African sovereignty.

Traore rose to power in September 2022 following a military coup that capitalized on rising anti-French sentiment in the Sahel region. He has aligned Burkina Faso with neighboring Mali and Niger, both of which have similarly distanced themselves from their former colonial ruler, France, while strengthening ties with Russia.

Last month, the foreign ministers of these three nations met in Moscow for inaugural talks as the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States, cementing their pivot away from traditional Western partnerships.

The portrayal of Traore on social media presents a stark contrast to assessments from human rights organizations, which have documented increasing restrictions on press freedom and civil liberties under his leadership. Yet across Nigerian social platforms, his image continues to be burnished.

Nigerian actress and politician Hilda Dokubo recently wrote on X: “Ibrahim Traore is all the proof Nigerians need to know that a country takes the shape of its leadership,” exemplifying how this narrative has penetrated mainstream discourse.

Malik Samuel, senior researcher at Good Governance Africa, warns that this trend carries significant risks. “This growing admiration for Traore in Nigeria poses serious threats to national security and democratic stability,” Samuel explained. “It normalizes military intervention as a viable political solution and opens the door to foreign ideological interference.”

The timing of Traore’s rising popularity in Nigeria coincides with severe economic challenges facing the country. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms have triggered the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, creating fertile ground for alternative political narratives.

“Traore fits the role perfectly—young, defiant, and open to Russian cooperation, especially through Wagner-linked security outfits now rebranded as the Africa Corps,” said Ikemesit Effiong, a partner at SBM Intelligence, a geopolitical research firm.

Fact-checkers at AFP have debunked numerous false claims circulating on social media about Traore’s alleged achievements. One recent example involved Facebook posts showing a large residential construction project purportedly built under Traore’s leadership. The images actually depicted a national building project in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria—completely unrelated to Burkina Faso.

Similar misleading narratives have spread throughout Francophone Africa. In Ivory Coast, videos of Traore at a cement plant inauguration were falsely presented as evidence he had reduced cement prices across Burkina Faso.

These information campaigns follow a pattern that security analysts have observed across the region. Before his overthrow, former Nigerien president Mohamed Bazoum explicitly accused Russia’s Wagner Group of sponsoring “disinformation campaigns against us.”

Philip Obaji, a Nigerian journalist who studies Russian influence operations in Africa, described how these campaigns operate: “Russian propaganda units produce content that is then distributed to local influencers through intermediaries to post on social media.”

According to Effiong, this approach reflects Russia’s broader strategy in Africa—using social media to shape public opinion, enhance the image of military regimes, and position Moscow as a more respectful alternative to Western powers.

The phenomenon highlights how digital platforms have become battlegrounds for geopolitical influence in West Africa, with potentially profound implications for regional stability and democratic governance.