IRA in Ghana: Double Deceit
A Russian operation linked to former IRA associates employed social media users in Ghana to target Black communities in the U.S.
On March 12, 2020, CNN, Twitter, Facebook, Graphika, and two professors from Clemson University exposed a cross-platform influence operation on social media that was run from Ghana but targeted Black communities in the United States. These organizations concluded that the operation, which was still in the early stages of building its audience, was linked to a Ghanaian NGO ostensibly focused on human rights but ultimately traceable to Russia. Facebook attributed the operation to “individuals associated with past activity by the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA).”
Ben Nimmo
Head of Investigations
Ben Nimmo was Head of Investigations at Graphika, where he led an expert team of OSINT investigators in detecting, identifying and analyzing inauthentic behavior and information operations online. He specializes in analyzing patterns of online disinformation and influence operations across varying platforms and geographical regions. He is now the Principal Investigator, Intelligence & Investigations at OpenAI.
Camille François
Chief Innovation Officer
Camille François works on cyber conflict and digital rights online. She was the Chief Innovation Officer at Graphika, where she led the company’s work to detect and mitigate disinformation, media manipulation and harassment.
C. Shawn Eib
Analyst
Léa Ronzaud
Senior Analyst
Léa Ronzaud leads monitoring and investigations into the detection and tracking of Russian influence operations and violent extremist groups. She also researches nihilistic violent extremism and hacktivism. Léa’s work has helped disrupt efforts by extremists in multiple countries to orchestrate real-world harm and exposed the inner workings of nation-state influence operations from Russia, China, and Iran.
Melanie Smith
Head of Analysis
Melanie Smith was Head of Analysis at Graphika, where she studied online social movements, disinformation, and election integrity.
Thomas Lederer is Vice President of Technology at Graphika, where he leads development and optimization of the company’s software platform and analytic solutions. He previously directed Graphika’s intelligence data team and has contributed to multiple reports and investigations, bringing a background that combines technology leadership and research work.
Joseph A. Carter
Vice President, Customer Success and Operations
Joseph Carter was Vice President, Customer Success and Operations, at Graphika.
Erin McAweeney
Director of Analysis
Erin McAweeney was the Director of Analysis at Graphika, where she led a team specialized in network analysis methods to expose online harms. Her work uses qualitative and quantitative methods to map and analyze online threats related to election integrity, child safety, and health and science misinformation.
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The full report includes the complete network graph maps, raw attribution indicators, cross-platform topology analysis, and the full takedown timeline with platform-level data.
- Full network graph visualizations
- Attribution indicators with confidence scores
- Raw behavioral modeling data
- Takedown coordination timeline
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