By Joy Odor, Abuja
Nigeria’s democracy is standing on a digital fault line and the world is watching.
That was the sobering verdict delivered during a one-day high-level training for members of the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Nigeria (DICAN), where Mr. Sebastien Babaud of the EU External Action Service (EEAS) delivered a dramatic on Monday in Abuja, unfiltered exposé on how foreign actors are infiltrating, distorting, and destabilizing political systems across Africa through sophisticated information warfare.
What began as a routine virtual presentation quickly escalated into a chilling, beat-by-beat breakdown of how global disinformation networks are quietly dismantling democratic institutions, rewriting public narratives, and turning technology into a weapon of political subversion.
“Democracy is under attack,” Babaud warned, echoing EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Information manipulation is no longer a nuisance, it is a global security threat eroding the very foundations of governance.”
Babaud drew on recent World Economic Forum data showing disinformation has skyrocketed to one of the world’s top threats above economic shocks, climate risks, and geopolitical conflict.
The country’s vast social media landscape, deep political polarization, and rising AI infiltration have created a perfect incubator for foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).
“Today’s disinformation is intentional, industrial, and strategic,” he said. “It is financed, coordinated, and deployed with military precision.”
In a methodical, blow-by-blow exposition, the EU official unveiled some of the world’s most alarming digital influence operations many of which have crept into Africa’s online space:
A constellation of AI-driven fake media outlets publishing fabricated stories across continents, including Africa.
A global impersonation scheme cloning major newspapers and government websites from The Guardian to France’s Ministry of Interior to spread believable propaganda designed to sabotage trust.
A viral hoax claiming a foreign president bought a luxury mansion from King Charles an example of how quickly manufactured lies can dominate international conversation.
“These networks follow one playbook: Create misinformation, amplify it, infiltrate public discourse, and divide society,” Babaud explained. “By the time truth catches up, the damage is irreversible.”
The EU expert stressed that modern disinformation no longer relies on bold lies, it thrives on twisted truths.
“Disinformation today mixes fact with fiction,” he said. “It weaponises small truths to amplify big divisions.”
From COVID-19 to elections, from conflict narratives to migration debates, Babaud noted that foreign actors deliberately tap into emotional fractures exploiting fear, identity, insecurity, and political grievances.
While the actors may be foreign, their goal is deeply local:
to erode public trust in institutions, weaken national cohesion, and escalate tensions along political, religious, and ethnic lines.
“These operations do not simply spread lies,” he said. “They break societies from within.”
The EU’s decision to train DICAN members, Babaud said, was strategic and deliberate.
Diplomatic correspondents sit at a critical intersection:
They shape narratives about Nigeria’s foreign relationships.
They amplify global political events.
They are high-value targets for foreign manipulation.
They are essential partners in countering FIMI.
“Journalists are multipliers,” he noted. “Mislead them, and you mislead the nation.”
To counter rising manipulation, the EU has deployed a multi-layered defence strategy:
Monitoring disinformation targeting elections
Supporting fact-checkers like Dubawa
Training African and European journalists
Engaging tech platforms to curb harmful content
Launching the European Democracy Shield to protect public institutions
“These investments are not charity,” he emphasised. “They are strategic. Nigeria’s stability has global implications.”
As the session drew to a close, Babaud delivered a stark warning that resonated across the room:
“If societies cannot agree on what is real, they cannot govern, coexist, or move forward. The fight against disinformation is the fight for democracy itself.”
For Nigeria, the implications are clear.
The nation’s strength will not be determined by political rhetoric or military might alone but by the credibility, integrity, and resilience of its information ecosystem.
In this new era of digital warfare, journalists are not observers.
They are frontline defenders.
