Report finds monetisation tools on EU-sanctioned accounts

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 accountability non-profit WHAT TO FIX.

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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.

Yamb, Afoua and Tagouh were sanctioned by the EU in 2025 over pro-Russian foreign interference activities, with the EU accusing the trio of taking part in influence operations targeting audiences in Africa and supporting pro-Kremlin information manipulation campaigns.

One of the most recognisable figures, 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.

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.

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. Researchers from the African Digital Democracy Observatory said Afrique Média carried out coverage of Wagner activities and republished content from RT.

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.

The sanctions come amid growing concern in Europe over Russia’s influence operations in parts of Africa, particularly in Mali, where military authorities have deepened ties with Moscow following the withdrawal of French forces in 2022.

Russian mercenaries linked to the Wagner Group, and later its successor, Africa Corps, have increasingly deepened security ties in the region, whilst researchers have documented pro-Russian information campaigns protraying Moscow as a strong ally whilst denigrating the West.

Under EU sanctions, funds or economic resources cannot legally be made available to sanctioned individuals. Yet, WHAT TO FIX’s research says several accounts linked to these three continued to display monetisation features long after the sanctions were imposed.

According to WHAT TO FIX’s Executive Director Victoire Rio, “there’s different ways you can make money as a creator and you have a number of services that are off platform and then you have a bunch of services that are facilitated directly by the platform.”

“The most notable of those are royalty programmes where the platform is actually the one that’s making direct payment to those accounts based on the engagement that they generate,” she added.

Researchers said they focused on whether platforms had granted access to monetisation services, which, in itself, does not show how much or if money was actually paid out to the individuals. The report equally does not establish whether any funds were ultimately paid out.

Researchers found that, 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.

A number of these features were removed. TikTok removed an account linked to Afoua after researchers raised concerns, while WHAT TO FIX observed that Youtube later removed a Channel Membership feature linked to the Ligue de Défense Noire Africaine channel.

According to WHAT TO FIX, 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.

In a statement to Euronews, YouTube said: “Google is committed to compliance with applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws, and enforces related policies under our Terms of Service. If we find that an account violates our Terms of Service, we take appropriate action.”

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.

According to WHAT TO FIX, their findings raise broader questions about how platforms screen creators before granting them access to monetisation platforms.

“There’s very little transparency about how these processes are meant to work, let alone how they’re actually working in practice,” Rio said.

Rio also argued the issue raises questions under 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.

“Our argument is that platform monetisation practices actually are a risk factor on all systemic risks. And platforms should be under Article 34 of the DSA, assessing this risk and developing some mitigation measures,” she told Euronews.

“The first ask we’ve been pushing forward is transparency,” Rio added.