Skip to main content

Senegal under influence — FIMI Report 2025

Pan-AfricanSénégal

Objective(s)

To analyse, document and make recommendations to combat manipulation and foreign interference through information (FIMI) in Senegal, particularly during election periods.

Overview

The FIMI Senegal Report is an analytical study produced by AfricTivistes on manipulation and foreign interference through the media in Senegal. Following several months of research conducted in collaboration with stakeholders, the report was presented and endorsed at a workshop on 5 August 2025 in Dakar, attended by representatives from civil society, public authorities, regulators, researchers and the media.

CONTEXT

Despite its strong democratic tradition and a resilience score of 60/100 according to the 2023 FIMI index published by the European University Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) — the highest in West Africa — Senegal remains vulnerable to political polarisation, the media’s economic dependence, and the intensification of foreign disinformation campaigns during election periods. Its relative democratic stability, combined with geopolitical, historical and technological vulnerabilities, paradoxically makes it an attractive target for external actors seeking to interfere.

APPROACH

The study is based on the methodology developed by International IDEA, combining qualitative interviews with key stakeholders and an in-depth literature review. It focuses specifically on FIMI in an electoral context and aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the phenomena observed during recent elections in Senegal.

A project by

Supported by