Just three weeks after the “Rwanda classified” revelations from the Forbidden Stories collective, where 50 journalists investigated and dismantled the soft power system put in place by Kigali and its involvement in the death of journalist John Williams Ntwali, an American university has just published a new report criticizing the regime of Paul Kagame. According to Clemson University, in South Carolina, supporters of the Rwandan government have boosted their communication on the X network thanks to artificial intelligence, a few days before the presidential election.
1 min
With our correspondent in New York, Carrie Nooten
On July 15, the Rwandan will be called to the polls. Paul Kagame is applying for a fourth term. But his campaign on the social network X would not have been organized in a fair manner. Media researchers at Clemson University are sure of it. The pro-Rwanda network both suppressed posters and messages critical of the government but also generated seemingly independent messages in favor of Kigali, using artificial intelligence tools and extensive linguistic models.
Four hundred and sixty-four social network accounts were scrutinized. Since January, these have generated 650,000 messages and half of these posts support Rwanda’s position on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the M23 rebels, supported by Paul Kagame.
Other publications accuse Kinshasa of collaborating with the predominantly Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda militia in the east of the country. The latter is accused of having links with the perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide.
Photos have been photoshopped on a large scale, using AI but also manual retouching, such as that of a meeting of anti-Rwandan activists. This communication via disinformation campaigns go completely against the rules of the social network.