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Monetisation still available to EU-sanctioned figures on social media

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · · 816 words · By Estelle Nilsson-Julien; Tamsin Paternoster
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What to know about Monetisation still available to EU-sanctioned figures on social media

Researchers from the Dutch non-profit WHAT TO FIX found monetisation tools were still active on social media accounts linked to three individuals sanctioned by the EU over pro-Russian interference activities.

Claims checked 17
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Researchers from the Dutch non-profit WHAT TO FIX found monetisation tools were still active on social media accounts linked to three individuals sanctioned by the EU over pro-Russian interference activities.

Why it matters

Social media accounts linked to three individuals sanctioned by the European Union for pro-Russian foreign interference activities continued to display tools on their profiles after sanctions were imposed, according to a report by Dutch tech and…

Common ground

The analysis found that 21 accounts linked to Nathalie Yamb, Sylvain Afoua and Justin Tagouh on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube and X, with a combined audience of more than 4 million followers.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/05/30/accounts-linked-to-eu-sanctioned-f…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 17 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 7
check_circle Corroborated 6
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified 1
info Single Source 1
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Claim 1: “The analysis found that 21 accounts linked to Nathalie Yamb, Sylvain Afoua and Justin Tagouh on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube and X, with a combined audience of more than 4 million followers.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results explicitly state that the analysis found 21 accounts linked to Nathalie Yamb, Sylvain Afoua, and Justin Tagouh across the mentioned platforms with over 4 million followers.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The analysis found that 21 accounts linked to Nathalie Yamb, Sylvain Afoua and Justin Tagouh on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube and X, with a combined ...
https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/social-media-accounts-l…
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web search NEUTRAL — The analysis found that 21 accounts linked to Nathalie Yamb, Sylvain Afoua and Justin Tagouh on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube and X, with a combined audience of more than 4 million followers. Y…
https://d33gy59ovltp76.cloudfront.net/news/accounts-linked-t…
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web search NEUTRAL — О сервисе Прессе Авторские права Связаться с нами Авторам Рекламодателям Разработчикам Условия использования Конфиденциальность Правила и безопасность Как работает YouTube Тестирование новых функций.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewxnOYYSSXc
help
Claim 2: “military authorities have deepened ties with Moscow following the withdrawal of French forces in 2022 [in Mali].”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found in the search results for this specific claim.
verified
Claim 3: “Yamb, according to the EU, has adopted Moscow’s language and is an outspoken supporter of Russia with ties to AFRIC, an organisation linked to Russian private military companies.”
VERIFIED
An official EU document (Consilium PDF) explicitly states that Yamb has specific ties with AFRIC, an organization linked to Russian private military companies.
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web search NEUTRAL — May 29, 2026 · The EU sanctioned Nathalie Yamb, Sylvain Afoua and Justin Tagouh in 2025 over pro-Russian influence operations targeting Africa.
https://www.facebook.com/euronews/posts/the-eu-sanctioned-na…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 15, 2025 · Yamb has specific ties with AFRIC, an organisation linked to Russian private military companies, and is responsible for supporting the Russian ...
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 5, 2025 · The European Council has formally banned Swiss-Cameroonian activist and influencer Nathalie Yamb from entering or residing in the European Union.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Africa/comments/1ls7vwa/eu_bans_nat…
schedule
Claim 4: “during reviews between January and April 2026, monetisation features on a number of accounts linked to sanctioned figures were present, including Facebook Stars, Creator Subscriptions, TikTok Subscriptions and YouTube Channel Memberships.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 5: “Under EU sanctions, funds or economic resources cannot legally be made available to sanctioned individuals.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 6: “Researchers from the Dutch non-profit WHAT TO FIX found monetisation tools were still active on social media accounts linked to three individuals sanctioned by the EU over pro-Russian interference activities.”
CORROBORATED
The claim is explicitly confirmed by Euronews and other web search results stating that the Dutch non-profit WHAT TO FIX found active monetization tools on accounts of EU-sanctioned individuals.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Price fixing is an anticompetitive agreement between participants on the same side in a market to buy or sell a product, service, or commodity only at a fixed price, or maintain the market conditions …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_fixing
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A shadow fleet, also referred to as a dark fleet, is a ship or group of such shadow ships, "...that uses concealing tactics to smuggle sanctioned goods". Shadow fleets are a direct response to interna…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_fleet
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. Sports bettors place their wagers either legally, through a sportsbook or bookmaker (colloquially known …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_betting
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 7: “The Cube, Euronews’ fact-checking team, also identified a separate TikTok account linked to Afoua, created after the first was was taken down, that the platform swiftly removed after it was flagged.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 8: “WHAT TO FIX observed that Youtube later removed a Channel Membership feature linked to the Ligue de Défense Noire Africaine channel.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 9: “Afoua, otherwise known as Egountchi Behanzin, leads the Ligue de Défense Noire Africaine (LDNA), a pan-African activist organisation dissolved by French authorities in 2021.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant Microsoft support pages. No actual evidence regarding Sylvain Afoua or the LDNA was found in the provided search results.
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web search NEUTRAL — The type of support Microsoft provides for consumers depends on the product you're calling about and if you have a product for home or for business use. It can also depend on if you want help for an i…
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/microsoft-365-cus…
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web search NEUTRAL — Get help for the account you use with Microsoft. Find how to set up Microsoft account, protect it, and use it to manage your services and subscriptions.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account
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web search NEUTRAL — If you're not interested in trying the new Outlook for Windows just yet and don't want to be a part of this one-time switch, in classic Outlook go to File > Options> General > New Outlook options and …
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/switch-to-new-out…
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Claim 10: “Researchers from the African Digital Democracy Observatory said Afrique Média carried out coverage of Wagner activities and republished content from RT.”
CORROBORATED
The African Digital Democracy Observatory (ADDO) explicitly reported that Afrique Média TV has been a prominent advocate for the Wagner Group and republished RT content.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Sep 20, 2023 · Afrique Média TV (AM-TV) has emerged as a prominent advocate for the Wagner Group since its short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin.
https://disinfo.africa/afrique-média-tv-wagners-new-african-…
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web search NEUTRAL — This Whitehall Report looks at the Wagner Group (Wagner) from the perspective of its African and Middle Eastern clients, focusing on four case studies: Mali,.
https://static.rusi.org/wagner-in-africa-and-middle-east.pdf
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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 23, 2021 · Moscow convincing African audiences of its political model and more on “the appropriation of its informational content by African actors with ...
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2…
schedule
Claim 11: “TikTok removed an account linked to Afoua after researchers raised concerns”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 12: “Tagouh, meanwhile, founded Afrique Media, a large Francophone TV and digital media network that announced a partnership with Russian state outlet Russia Today (RT) in 2022.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (Dailyhunt, other web results) confirm that Justin Tagouh founded Afrique Media and that it partnered with RT in 2022.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Tagouh, meanwhile, founded Afrique Media, a large Francophone TV and digital media network that announced a partnership with Russian state outlet Russia Today (RT) in 2022.
https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/euronews+english-e…
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web search NEUTRAL — Just at the end of 2022, Afrique Média announced a partnership with RT to combat “misleading Western propaganda.” On a segment announcing this partnership, a representative of Afrique Média said that …
https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/kremlin-mout…
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web search NEUTRAL — Among the Afrique Média articles listed in these documents, dozens offer a positive coverage of AES news or criticise Ukraine and the actions of Western countries in West Africa. According to the docu…
https://www.france24.com/en/africa/20260403-article-russia-i…
help
Claim 13: “Russian mercenaries linked to the Wagner Group, and later its successor, Africa Corps, have increasingly deepened security ties in the region”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found in the search results for this specific claim.
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Claim 14: “Yamb, Afoua and Tagouh were sanctioned by the EU in 2025 over pro-Russian foreign interference activities”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including a PDF from the EU Council (Consilium) and news reports, confirm that Yamb, Afoua, and Tagouh were sanctioned by the EU in 2025 for pro-Russian interference/influence operations.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bassa (also spelled Basa or Basaa and sometimes known as Bassa-Bakongo) are a Bantu ethnic group in Cameroon. They number approximately 800,000 individuals. The Bassa speak the Basaa language.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassa_people_(Cameroon)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Nathalie Yamb is a Cameroonian-Swiss activist and businesswoman. She is best-known for opposing the actions of France in Africa, which she described as "colonial". She was born in Switzerland and grew…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathalie_Yamb
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Russia–Switzerland relations are foreign relations between Russia and Switzerland. Switzerland opened a consulate in Saint Petersburg in 1816, upgrading it to a legation 90 years later. The two countr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia–Switzerland_relations
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 15: “an X account linked to Yamb that appeared monetised during researchers' January review was no longer monetised when they conducted a second review in April.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 16: “the EU’s Digital Services Act, which, under Article 34, requires the largest online platforms to identify and assess systemic risks that stem from their services.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 17: “Nathalie Yamb, is a Swiss-Cameroonian influencer and political commentator with an audience of more than two million followers, according to the London-based non-profit think tank, the Institute of Strategic Dialogue.”
CORROBORATED
The claim is supported by Wikipedia (identifying her as Cameroonian-Swiss) and specific reports from the Institute of Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and ADDO detailing her influencer status and follower counts.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Nathalie Yamb is a Cameroonian-Swiss activist and businesswoman. She is well-known for opposing the actions of France in Africa, which she and others describe as colonial.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathalie_Yamb
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Example: Nathalie Yamb. At date of publication – Facebook: 782k followers, YouTube: 546k subscribers, X: 493k followers, TikTok: 248k followers, Instagram: 95.1k followers. Nathalie Yamb is a Swiss-Ca…
https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/investigation-pro…
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web search NEUTRAL — On 26 June 2025, Nathalie Yamb, a Swiss-Cameroonian political activist and influencer, was added to the sanctions list for similar reasons.
https://disinfo.africa/who-are-the-african-propagandists-on-…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.