Eight pallbearers – some wearing tracksuits emblazoned with the FIFA logo – carried a coffin on their shoulders. Alongside them, referee whistles echoed the tune of a song being sung by the funeral procession. It was September 2020, and hundreds of people had gathered at a sports stadium in the Central African Republic (CAR) to bid farewell to Jean Claude Sendeoli
Sendeoli was a teacher at a secondary school in the capital, Bangui, and a referee for the country’s football federation. After his death, students posted messages on the school’s Facebook page to remember their much-loved teacher while FIFA named him in its 2020 obituaries, closing the book on his journey.
But what nobody knew was that even after he was laid to rest, his identity was not.
In the years that followed, photos of Sendeoli would become part of a pro-Russian propaganda campaign – one that used his image to create a fake persona whose articles have been published in media outlets in more than a dozen African countries.
And it was the images and videos of his final farewell that helped Al Jazeera uncover the propaganda campaign and prove that a man who claimed to be a geopolitical expert did not exist at all.
Paid-for content
“Good evening, sir. My name is Aubin Koutele, I am a journalist for TogoMedia24,” read the February 2022 WhatsApp message obtained by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit).
“I would like to know the conditions of publishing an already edited article on your website,” wrote Koutele, who edits and publishes the Togolese news website.
The answer from the Burkinabe newspaper came quickly.
“We will have a look, and if it aligns with our editorial guidelines, we will publish it,” the editor replied.
Like many media outlets around the world, revenue for publications in Burkina Faso has dwindled.
As a result, many have resorted to finding new sources of income, including publishing paid-for content. Usually, these paid articles advertise a product or service, but sometimes they are of a different nature.
This was one such case.
Koutele, the journalist who approached the Burkinabe editor, sent over the first of several articles. “Article not signed,” the editor told Koutele, referring to the missing byline.
“I’m sorry. Gregoire Cyrille Dongobada [is the writer],” Koutele replied.
Shortly after, the article was published. Koutele later sent the newspaper payment for the piece, about $80.
