Last year, reporters Sam Mednick and Jeannie Ohm obtained a confidential legal brief submitted to the International Criminal Court, marking the first formal request for the court to investigate Russia-linked Wagner Group for war crimes committed in Africa’s Sahel region through the use of social media.
The 200-page brief accused Wagner of weaponizing digital platforms to incite and glorify violence, including the dissemination of graphic content—some appearing to hint at cannibalism. Mednick and Ohm persuaded a trusted source to share the document with AP.
Mednick and Monika Pronczuk reviewed the extensive brief, while Pronczuk independently verified disturbing content posted to Wagner-linked channels. Michael Biesecker authenticated the imagery and cross-referenced it with open-source intelligence.
Though the team reported remotely due to safety and access challenges in Mali and Burkina Faso, they uncovered additional alleged atrocity videos tied to Wagner’s operations. Allen Breed produced a powerful video package to accompany the text report.
The story revealed that the ICC is being urged to adopt a novel legal strategy to investigate Wagner’s activities—focusing not only on physical violence but also on the propaganda and psychological warfare waged through social media.
AP’s exclusive reporting exposed the digital tactics used to promote terror in the Sahel, the world’s deadliest region for extremist violence, and raised new questions about how modern war crimes are committed and documented.
Related articles
