Security forces of Libya's internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) reportedly arrested two Russian men in Tripoli in May, though the arrests were not announced until early July. Tripoli authorities claim that the Russians possessed laptops and memory sticks that revealed their work in a Russian "troll factory" that allegedly sought to influence upcoming elections in Libya and a number of African countries.

The Foundation for National Values Protection, a Russian nongovernmental organization that is a part of Fabrika Trollei — Russian for "troll factory" — confirmed the arrest of two staff members, stating they were apprehended while “carrying out opinion polls.” A letter stamped by the attorney general’s office and later obtained by Bloomberg revealed that the two Russians were involved, with the support of Russian officials, in securing a meeting with Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of Moammar al-Gadhafi.

Fabrika Trollei is an umbrella organization for a collection of media sites and political organizations connected to Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Kremlin-linked Russian tycoon was placed on the US sanctions list last year for his alleged involvement in Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

A Tripoli-based source, who spoke with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, said that the two arrested Russians had acted in the interest of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi and Khalifa Hifter. The reports they channeled back to Russia contained distorted information about Libya’s support of the two political figures. They painted the two as “the most popular politicians nationwide,” ranking Saif al-Islam Gadhafi as the most popular. “Such claims bear no relation to reality," the source said, "especially when it comes to Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who commands support at best among stalwart Gadhafists, a numerically weak fringe group in Libya.”