Russian cyber strategy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): Analysing the Kremlin's disinformation efforts amid 2022 invasion of Ukraine

Abstract

Over-reliance on social media platforms for news in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) provides fertile ground for Russia to cultivate its image as a great power through Russian state- funded media channels such as RT Arabic and Sputnik Arabic. RT Arabic (formerly known as Russia Today) started operating in the developing countries of the Arabic-speaking Middle East as early as May 2007 (Jensen, 2018). Although disinformation has grown to be an important component of Russia's strategic engagement in the MENA, the Kremlin's information operations targeting the Arabic-speaking populations are still not thoroughly investigated in the literature. This study draws from the literature on Russia's broader strategy in the MENA and brings emphasis to the information component of the strategy that has received little academic attention. Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine marked a further increase in Moscow's Ukraine-related disinformation campaigns in the MENA, providing a new opportunity to assess Russia's broader strategic goals in the region via gaining insights into the anatomy of the Kremlin's information operations. In this light, Russia's disinformation efforts in the MENA - the region that has traditionally been a battleground between great powers - have become a significant subject to study....