In recent months, Koo, Twitter’s Indian rival, has begun advertising to Nigerians with the support of a powerful brand ambassador: President Muhammadu Buhari. The endorsement comes more than two months after Buhari banned Twitter from Nigeria, in response to the social media company deleting a controversial tweet from Buhari threatening violence against supporters of a secessionist movement in the South East.

China has sought to harness global information networks to influence perceptions of itself.

As President-Elect, Prabowo Subianto, widely accused of past rights abuses, is already showing signs that he may further damage Indonesia's fragile democracy.