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Latvia

November 20th - November 26th, 2023 | Week 12 | Month 3

Latvia Weekly: Istanbul Convention and Economic Struggles

At the centre of discussion of the examined week were two topics that have been prevalent in the disinformation content examined prior- the ratification of Istanbul Convention and the controversy surrounding private jet flights by the current foreign affairs minister and the former prime minister Krišjānis Kariņš. With Istanbul Convention getting closer to ratification which had been priorly articulated by the examined accounts as impossible the narratives now help to fuel their aspiration of dismissing the current parliament for which they are currently trying to obtain necessary votes for a referendum. In regard to the private jet flights, there is an overall agreement that this constitutes excessive spending however it helps the examined authors to further create the image of Latvia being corrupt, its people being poor and create and shape and overall narrative of not thrustworthy government. During the examined week, the volume of content examined was significantly lower than prior weeks. From the examined platforms, it follows same as the prior weeks- video content reaches bigger audiences and creates more engagement with Twitter and Telegram receiving the least engament and Tiktok and Facebook the most.

by Otto Tabuns

Main narratives:

  • By direct effect of Istanbul Convention, the terms “man” and “women” are now excluded from European Union treaties and replaced with the social gender term
  • Latvia is now officially the poorest country in Europe
  • Implying that crypto currency is being pushed on to the country by the Latvia’s Bank  

Overview:

At the centre of discussion of the examined week were two topics that have been prevalent in the disinformation content examined prior- the ratification of Istanbul Convention and the controversy surrounding private jet flights by the current foreign affairs minister and the former prime minister Krišjānis Kariņš. With Istanbul Convention getting closer to ratification which had been priorly articulated by the examined accounts as impossible the narratives now help to fuel their aspiration of dismissing the current parliament for which they are currently trying to obtain necessary votes for a referendum. In regard to the private jet flights, there is an overall agreement that this constitutes excessive spending however it helps the examined authors to further create the image of Latvia being corrupt, its people being poor and create and shape and overall narrative of not thrustworthy government. During the examined week, the volume of content examined was significantly lower than prior weeks. From the examined platforms, it follows same as the prior weeks- video content reaches bigger audiences and creates more engagement with Twitter and Telegram receiving the least engament and Tiktok and Facebook the most.

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