Mali’s information war is increasingly being shaped by AI

Generative AI is increasingly used for information warfare in Mali, according to a study released Wednesday, with the conflict's factions mastering the technology to varying degrees.

The analysis by the Timbuktu Institute, a Dakar-based think tank, found that generative AI was being used to "amplify and accelerate" existing faultlines within the west African country, which is serving as an "open-air laboratory" for the technology's use in warfare.

The Sahelian nation has been wracked since 2012 by a serious security crisis, notably fuelled by violence from jihadists, along with criminal gangs and armed separatists.

Starting in April, allied fighters from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and the Tuareg separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) began carrying out a series of attacks, meant to weaken the country's junta rulers.

The military government, which in recent years has cut ties with the West and grown close to Moscow, is using Russia's Africa Corps paramilitary fighters for help in battling the insurgents.

Far from being adopted uniformly, generative AI is being deployed via different means depending on the factions' capabilities, resources and objectives, the Timbuktu Institute reported.

While JNIM's use appears "still limited", its media arm Az-Zallaqa did release AI-generated posters in June 2026.

AI usage is more evident in spaces linked to the FLA. Several TikTok accounts featuring AI-generated characters presented as real people broadcast messages favourable to the group.

These characters artificially "humanise" the cause while also making it more difficult to identify who is behind the content, the think tank said.

The most sophisticated generative AI usage however, has been by Russia and Africa Corps.

The report noted that in 2024, Meta and OpenAI identified a Russian operation using AI models to produce commentary, articles and images in English and French aimed at audiences in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the analysis, Africa Corps possesses the resources and expertise to integrate AI into more structured operations that combine AI content, fake accounts and dissemination strategies.