Who Was Really Behind Comoros Election Pages?

Introduction

During Comoros’s 2019 presidential election, one of the most unusual information-deception stories was not a forged document or a fabricated photograph but a network of social-media pages that appeared to be local news outlets while actually being managed from outside the country. To ordinary users, these pages looked like independent Comorian media sources sharing news, political commentary and election-related information. Investigators later concluded that many were part of a coordinated influence operation linked to a Tunisian digital communications company rather than genuine grassroots journalism.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

The case matters because it blurred the line between political advertising, public relations and fake local news. Instead of openly declaring who was behind the content, the operators created the impression that political messages were emerging organically from local voices. In a country where social media had become an increasingly important source of information, that illusion gave the campaign much of its power.[Reporters Without Borders]rsf.orgReporters Without BordersComorosMedia landscape. La Gazette des Comores, a privately-owned daily, and the state-owned Al Watwan newspaper…

Who Was Really Behind Comoros Election Pages?

The operation came to wider public attention in 2020 when Facebook removed hundreds of accounts, pages and groups connected to what it described as “coordinated inauthentic behaviour.” Independent researchers from the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) linked the network to the Tunisian communications firm UReputation and labelled the broader campaign “Operation Carthage.” Investigators found activity connected not only to Tunisia but also to several African countries, including Comoros.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

Unlike traditional propaganda outlets, these pages generally did not identify themselves as campaign organisations. Instead, they presented themselves as news providers, civic-information pages or community voices. Readers encountering them could easily assume that the information reflected local reporting or public opinion within Comoros.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

The timing was significant. Comoros held an early presidential election in March 2019 after controversial constitutional changes had reshaped the political system and intensified political tensions. The election environment was already polarised, creating conditions in which apparently independent information sources could attract attention and influence discussion.[Wikipedia]Wikipedia2019 Comorian presidential election2019 Comorian presidential election

How the Pages Imitated Local Media

The effectiveness of the operation depended less on spectacular falsehoods than on presentation. Researchers found that many pages adopted the visual style and language of legitimate news organisations. They used news-like names, shared political updates and published content designed to look like ordinary reporting rather than overt campaigning.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

This approach exploited a common assumption among social-media users: that a page discussing local politics in a familiar style is probably run by local journalists or residents. The deception lay in the hidden identity of the operators. The audience was not necessarily being fooled by a single fabricated story; it was being misled about who was speaking.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

Researchers studying influence operations often describe this tactic as creating a false appearance of authenticity. Rather than announcing a political agenda openly, operators disguise the source of information so that messages appear more trustworthy and less coordinated than they really are. The Comoros-linked pages fit this pattern.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

The Tunisia-Based Network Behind the Posts

DFRLab investigators traced connections between numerous Facebook assets and UReputation, a Tunisian strategic communications company. According to the investigation, the firm’s network promoted political narratives in multiple African elections and maintained a large collection of pages that could be adapted for different political campaigns.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

The operation was notable because it resembled a commercial service rather than a purely ideological movement. Researchers characterised it as a form of influence-for-hire: political messaging delivered through covert social-media infrastructure that could be deployed across national borders.[Nawaat]nawaat.orgoperation carthage nabil karoui and lobbyist lotfi bel hadj busted by facebookNawaat«Operation Carthage»: Nabil Karoui and lobbyist Lotfi Bel…16 Jun 2020 — « Disinformation as a service » is how the Atlantic Coun…

Comoros was one target among several. The same network was reported to have been active in other African countries, suggesting that the operators viewed elections as opportunities for regional influence campaigns rather than isolated domestic events.[Wikipedia]WikipediaList of political disinformation website campaignsList of political disinformation website campaigns

This cross-border element is what makes the episode particularly relevant in the history of deception. The pages appeared local, but the organisation behind them was not. The illusion of local journalism concealed an international political communications operation.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

How Investigators Traced the Operation

The exposure of the network did not come from a whistle-blower or a leaked document. Instead, investigators pieced together technical and behavioural clues.

Researchers examined patterns including:

• Repeated administrative links between supposedly unrelated pages.
• Shared infrastructure and management behaviour across different countries.
• Coordinated posting patterns.
• Networks of accounts amplifying one another’s content.
• Evidence that page operators were not located where audiences believed them to be.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

Facebook’s own investigation eventually led to the removal of hundreds of accounts and pages associated with the operation. The platform concluded that the network engaged in coordinated inauthentic behaviour, meaning the deception centred on concealed identities and organised manipulation rather than simply publishing controversial opinions.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgoperation carthage 002Atlantic CouncilOperation Carthageby A Carvin — In an exclusive investigation that began in September 2019, the DFRLab uncovered dozens o…Published: September 2019

The investigation also demonstrated how modern influence campaigns can be uncovered. Rather than fact-checking individual posts one by one, researchers followed digital fingerprints: account connections, management patterns and evidence of hidden coordination.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

Why the Story Matters Beyond One Election

The Comoros case illustrates a modern form of fake local news. Earlier newspaper hoaxes often depended on inventing dramatic stories. The 2019 election pages used a subtler method: they borrowed the credibility of local journalism while disguising who controlled the message.

For readers, the lesson is that authenticity is not only about whether a specific claim is true or false. It is also about transparency. A page may publish real events, genuine photographs and accurate headlines while still misleading audiences if it conceals its political sponsors or foreign management.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

In the wider history of deception in Comoros, the episode stands as an example of how political influence adapted to the social-media era. Instead of forged documents or counterfeit artefacts, the central trick was the creation of false local voices—digital masks that made organised political messaging appear to be ordinary community news.[Atlantic Council]atlanticcouncil.orgAtlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conductedAtlantic CouncilOperation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted…June 5, 2020 — 5 Jun 2020 — By Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graha…Published: June 5, 2020

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Endnotes

1. Source: Wikipedia
Title: List of political disinformation website campaigns
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_disinformation_website_campaigns

2. Source: Wikipedia
Title: 2019 Comorian presidential election
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Comorian_presidential_election

3. Source: nawaat.org
Title: operation carthage nabil karoui and lobbyist lotfi bel hadj busted by facebook
Link:https://nawaat.org/2020/06/16/operation-carthage-nabil-karoui-and-lobbyist-lotfi-bel-hadj-busted-by-facebook/

4. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/channelsforum/posts/several-opposition-figures-have-urged-voters-to-boycott-the-ballot-in-which-five/1017666793054405/

5. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/News3LasVegas/posts/facebook-said-tuesday-it-has-removed-hundreds-of-fake-accounts-linked-to-an-iran/3814065998647781/

6. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/Capliton/posts/lionorder-last-four-years-by-this-time-many-people-turned-into-archimedes-giving/27454801254139299/

7. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/gary.africa/posts/the-former-kotoko-coach-has-led-zimbabwe-to-the-afcon-and-says-if-you-didnt-repl/3956202217795731/

8. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/joy997fm/posts/private-legal-practitioner-martin-kpebu-has-criticised-president-akufo-addo-for-/10160235879946894/

9. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/bristol.live/posts/former-bristol-teacher-pleads-not-guilty-to-historical-sexual-offences-%EF%B8%8Fa-former/1461513036017053/

10. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/PalauPresident/posts/fake-news-posted-oop-reaching-out-to-meta-koror-palau-may-20-2026-two-fake-socia/1439851151515128/

11. Source: facebook.com
Title: ex black stars and orlando pirates defender edwin gyimah has appeared on a radio
Link:https://www.facebook.com/addojunr/posts/ex-black-stars-and-orlando-pirates-defender-edwin-gyimah-has-appeared-on-a-radio/1511670437182566/

12. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/TaiwanNewsEN/posts/researchers-identified-coordinated-facebook-activity-involving-163-pages-that-we/1448845257283178/

13. Source: dfrlab.org
Title: russia fb france un minusca
Link:https://dfrlab.org/2024/08/06/russia-fb-france-un-minusca/

14. Source: atlanticcouncil.org
Title: Atlantic Council Operation Carthage: How a Tunisian company conducted
Link:https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/operation-carthage-how-a-tunisian-company-conducted-influence-operations-in-african-presidential-elections/

Published: June 5, 2020

15. Source: rsf.org
Link:https://rsf.org/en/country/comoros

16. Source: atlanticcouncil.org
Title: operation carthage 002
Link:https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/operation-carthage-002.pdf

Published: September 2019

17. Source: rsf.org
Title: comoros journalist threatened exposing flaws handling coronavirus crisis
Link:https://rsf.org/en/comoros-journalist-threatened-exposing-flaws-handling-coronavirus-crisis

Additional References

18. Source: medium.com
Link:https://medium.com/dfrlab/dfrlab-uncovers-tunisia-based-political-influence-operation-on-facebook-8c4d16b90744

19. Source: accessnow.org
Link:https://www.accessnow.org/transparency-required-is-facebooks-effort-to-clean-up-operation-carthage-damaging-free-expression-in-tunisia/

20. Source: ifex.org
Title: clampdown on journalists in comoros amid political crisis
Link:https://ifex.org/clampdown-on-journalists-in-comoros-amid-political-crisis/

21. Source: youtube.com
Title: Unrest rocks Comoros after presidential polls
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TYTEARGpFg

22. Source: youtube.com
Title: Comoros swears in president after controversial elections
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=danY39U_sUk

23. Source: lexota.org
Link:https://lexota.org/country/comoros/

24. Source: twas.org
Link:https://twas.org/directory?members_type=young-affiliates&page=1

25. Source: medium.com
Link:https://medium.com/dfrlab/facebook-shuts-down-egyptian-disinformation-network-bans-two-marketing-companies-60260d52ae0d

26. Source: afd.fr
Link:https://www.afd.fr/sites/default/files/2023-06-04-06-13/report-digital-freedoms-french-speaking-african-countries.pdf

27. Source: x.com
Link:https://x.com/benimmo/status/1268949930548305922?lang=en