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Interesting story about memes used in the Middle East war. Iran is a heavy producer, Trump/USA tries to respond in their own style. The narratives are speaking for themselves.

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Russia’s war propoganda and manipulation tactic that was basically a human trafficking scam

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Russia’s war propoganda and manipulation tactic that was basically a human trafficking scam

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“It all began with a classified report from the National Intelligence Service in Kenya that disclosed that state officials had colluded with Russian traffickers in this effort and even pointed to the involvement of the Russian Foreign Ministry, which vehemently deniesthe accusations. Since this issue came to light, propaganda videos from “influencers” glamorizing the situation have also come to the fore. To take a closer look at what is happening, we must begin with an analysis of a preemptive shift in Russian citizenship laws.” “Following Decree No. 821, Russia openly increased military recruitment propaganda campaigns on TikTok, Facebook, Telegram, YouTube, and VKontakte (a Russian version of Facebook. Although the campaigns are clear in stating that the work opportunities are military-related, they tout benefits that some individuals never receive. Promoted opportunities include one-year service contracts with a monthly stipend of 204,000 rubles (about $2,500), a signing bonus of 2–3 million rubles (about $24,630 – $37,000), and citizenship eligibility for the applicant and his or her family. While recruitment primarily targets men, it also reaches women, enticing them into positions in drone assembly and factory work.”

I’m not sure how close the first part of the article is to propoganda since it’s just straight up lying to Kenyan civilians that they would get jobs as e.g. mall security guards etc, but they ended up being trafficked and thrown into the frontline of the war. The second part however, clearly states that leading up to the “military trafficking/human trafficking trick” there has been a lot of war propoganda coming from Russia and also still going on even after this news came out.

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Though direct military recruitment clearly increased-with of recruitment efforts targeting foreigners in 2025, up from only 7 percent in 2024-the main issue young Africans face is signing onto military positions falsely advertised as civilian opportunities . Conservative estimates find that nearly 2,000 African men were promised a similar set of benefits for signing contracts to be drivers, cleaners, security guards, mechanics, and other roles: a monthly stipend of 179,300 rubles (about $2,200), a signing bonus of 1,059,600 rubles (about $13,000), and Russian citizenship. Deceptive postings appeared on advertising boards for civilian jobs like VisaPlus7, various social media platforms, and were shared through fake employment agencies. Upon inquiring, the men found themselves in coercive situations , pressured to sign contracts written in Russian without a translator present. Soon thereafter, they were sent to the frontlines of Russia's war in Ukraine, after receiving anywhere from 1.5 to three weeks of basic training. Decree No. 821 opened the pathway for Russia to claim that the African soldiers willingly joined the Russian military for employment and legal status, deeming them " volunteers ". One fortunate Kenyan national, Patrick Kwabe , escaped to Nairobi during his service. He is quoted as saying, "You need to escape, or you die. There are only two ways."

A Case for Human Trafficking

Russia's new system of deceptive "military recruitment" provides grounds to be labeled as a human trafficking case. The United Nations defines human trafficking as the " recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of people through force, fraud, or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit, often using fraudulent employment agencies and fake promises of education and job opportunities to trick and coerce victims." The lack of transparency for what role the reported African men are signing up for, the language barrier in their contracts to keep them in the dark, and the false promises of high-paying employment and university opportunities all align directly with the UN definition. The lives of these men are expendable to the Russian military, which has already faced over 1 million reported casualties . Russia aims to its military force by over 400,000 personnel in 2026 and is turning to countries with limited job opportunities to replace its growing personnel deficiencies.

Why African Soldiers?

Attempting Diplomacy

Ghana

For Ghanaians, efforts to combat Russia's deceptive military recruitment are ongoing. Of the 272 Ghanaian men confirmed to have been lured to the Russian frontlines, 55 are pronounced deceased . On March 15, 2026, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa stated that the foreign ministries of Ghana and Russia will cooperate to resolve issues surrounding the enlistment of Ghanaian youth, though the announcement was only shared on social media and does not elaborate further. A February meeting between Ablakwa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed efforts to protect Ghanaian youth who are being deceived and sent to war. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also met with Ablakwa to discuss the return of two Ghanaian prisoners of war who were captured while fighting for Russia. Though the two men have been confirmed to be alive and in good health, they have been released, and Ablakwa is continuing discussions with Ukraine to get them home. No further updates on talks with Russia have been shared.

Kenya

Following reports of over 1,000 Kenyans being recruited to fight in Russia, on March 16, Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to stop enlisting Kenyan nationals to fight in the war. While news outlets focus on the uplifting update, the fact is, in a recent post, Lavrov is heard saying that foreign soldiers are fighting voluntarily and will not have the need to be repatriated once their contracts are completed. Russia's military allows foreign citizens to voluntarily enlist, providing the government with a convenient loophole, as it can demonstrate "willing" signatures from soldiers deceived into fighting. To maintain positive bilateral relations following the March 16 meeting, Kenya is on shutting down recruitment agencies that run the trafficking operations and banning its citizens from enlisting in the Russian military. In response to the enlistment ban, Russia passed a law last month that foreigners from extradition to their home countries, rendering the ban ineffective.

South Africa

Russia's Ratings

Increased calls from victims' families-and subsequently their governments-to stop human trafficking across African countries signal growing mistrust about travel to, opportunities in, and ties with Russia. A recently published Afrobarometer survey (conducted from 2024 to 2025) shows that among all the foreign actors operating in Africa, Russia consistently rates lowest in popularity. Among the three countries in this article, South Africa has the most positive views of Russia at 40 percent, while Ghana and Kenya both rank around 25 percent. These numbers will likely decrease further as more families expose the nefarious recruiting operations.

Support Against Trafficking

Despite the absence of any break in Africa's ties with Russia, the trafficking operations provide an opening for the continent's allies to act. The European Parliament has already taken action by submitting a joint motion calling for a resolution on the trafficking issue, condemning Russia's actions, demanding sanctions on individuals and entities aiding the recruitment, and urging member states to bilaterally engage with the African Union. Member states are already utilizing the label of "human trafficking" as a basis for national prosecutors to track victims' movements across EU states on the way to Russia, and have also urged technology company Meta to remove thousands of false job schemes across its platforms, to which it obliged. The European Parliament also plans to cooperate with respective embassies to secure the return of the deceived men, and the United States should follow suit. One avenue to do so is through the US Africa Command's Combating Trafficking in Persons program, which provides informational campaigns, policy enhancements, and training for foreign government officials in human trafficking awareness. Using a mechanism already in place, the US military could work with embassy partners to prevent further cases. Additionally, private sector collaboration is a powerful resource to utilize. Non-governmental organizations could support governments and institutions in recording the victims. One such effort is already underway at Swiss-based (All Eyes on Wagner), which tracks victims lured into the Russian army with contributions from digital protection companies and other non-governmental organizations.

As this situation continues to unfold, to appropriately act, the international community must collectively acknowledge that the deceived men are victims of human trafficking, being exploited as disposable soldiers on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine. While African governments balance maintaining healthy relations with Russia and protecting their own, the time to provide support in dismantling "recruitment" networks is now.
Image: Five suspects appear at the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court for allegedly contravening the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act by planning to fight in Russia's war in Ukraine, in Johannesburg, South Africa, December 1, 2025. (REUTERS/Oupa Nkosi)

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False Promises: Russian Military Trafficking in Africa - Foreign Policy Research Institute

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In November of 2025, Decree No. 821 was quietly signed into law. The measure forces foreigners already living in Russia to choose between conscription and

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Russia loves using billboard and posters to spread their message to the citizens and expose them to this perspective. "The war is won in the fire", with a Z in the background - the symbol the Russian army uses. Second photo: "Everything will work out for us!", once again with a Z symbol. The Russian Government likes to represent Russia as the victim in this situation, that they are only defending themselves, so they are reassuring the citizens that they'll be okay. Next image recruits people by saying "Special war operation" participants will be rewarded with a lot of money, 800 thousand roubles, though many people have come out to say that it's a lie. Fourth picture states "Let's rebirth Donbass together!" which is a part of Ukraine. The image is from two years ago.

Following two images are more examples of the propaganda.

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Russia aims at kids by introducing war matters through positive themes. In the Patriot Park, there are many war-themed activities - playgrounds with full gear and weapons; Laser tag in "Afghanistan", and much more. In other locations, kids are shown how to create tank like toys and draw vehicles of war.

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Brazilian propaganda on the military from the 1960s

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Brazilian propaganda on the military from the 1960s

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Brazil military dictatorship banner inviting countrymen to join the army to continue instilling power on the military. It heavily takes notes from the former Uncle Sam propaganda from the US, almost mimicking the same style.

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This is a dutch propaganda poster from during COVID. They made this poster because a lot of people where started to take everything of the shelves in the supermarket, especially thing like toilet paper. This poster was supposed to be a joke but turned out to actually be effective.

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This is a Turkish propaganda poster from the first years of the republic. While encouraging people to vote, it uses illustrations of women voting to encourage them to follow in the footsteps of Ataturk, who gave women the right to vote The purpose of the poster is to show that people in Turkey make their own choices which is a propoganda because in those years there was only one man they could vote for, there was no other option.

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The President of Turkey Erdogan’s tweet at 1:00 PM, 11 Feb 2025 (propaganda)

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The President of Turkey Erdogan’s tweet at 1:00 PM, 11 Feb 2025 (propaganda)

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"UKRAINE WILL WIN"  "No Amount of Propaganda Can Hide the Fact that Ukraine is Winning this War"

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"UKRAINE WILL WIN"  "No Amount of Propaganda Can Hide the Fact that Ukraine is Winning this War"

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For the past three years, the mainstream media has consistently painted a picture of Ukraine's inevitable victory in its conflict with Russia. In July 2023, President Biden even said that Russia had already lost the war. The people in the mainstream who questioned Ukraine’s chances of success were often dismissed as "Russian assets" or "Putin's puppets." However, it now appears that both the U.S. and the EU were likely aware from the beginning of Ukraine's slim chances of winning, considering Russia’s population is four times larger and that Russia possesses nuclear weapons, while Ukraine does not.

Last month, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated, "All of NATO, from Los Angeles to Ankara, produces in a year the same amount of weapons that Russia is able to produce in just three months." This suggests that the true interests of the U.S. and the EU may not be rooted in supporting Ukraine's democracy and freedom, as they claim. Instead, the human cost in Ukraine seems to be secondary as long as it serves the strategic goal of weakening Russia's military capabilities.

American hawks have repeatedly stated, "We can be at war with Russia without losing a single American soldier." While Putin is undoubtedly a war criminal, the U.S. and the EU governments also have responsibility for convincing Zelenskyy to abandon the peace deal in March 2022—an agreement that would have ceded less than half of the territory which is now under Russian occupation. For the loss of that opportunity, Ukraine has paid the price with the death of hundreds of thousands of lives.

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This image is fake news meant to mislead people about a politician. It could make voters doubt or dislike him.They would think he is not capable of making decisions even if he went ahead and vied for the political seat. I do think it was effective since he vied and lost the election

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Propaganda in 1960s in UK to deter drug use. 

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This poster does not provide any information about drugs just labels drug addicts as not normal.

Glittering generality: word ‘’normal” in this poster is emotionally charged. It tries to persuade people that being drug free is good

Bandwagon: it tries to highlight that there is a larger group of people being drug-free