Main narratives:
- general anti-government sentiments;
- doubts about the transparency of democratic elections;
- the incompetence of the current government;
- discrediting Ukraine and its effort to win the war.
Overview:
Lithuanian media outlets with ties to the Kremlin prioritised domestic issues again this week. During the analysed period, discussions about the second round of Presidential elections occurred, where the incumbent President, Gitanas Nausėda, won over Ingrida Šimonytė in a landslide victory, were still highly present. Besides questioning the legitimacy of fair democratic elections, these outlets also harshly targeted Šimonytė and the whole conservative party that she represents: Kremlin-aligned media not only criticised and blamed them for most of the hardships Lithuania has gone through but also claimed that they are currently willing to involve Lithuania into the war. On that note, malign outlets also paid a fair deal of attention to Russia’s war in Ukraine as well, mainly emphasising how “brutally Ukraine’s government is bringing its citizens back to the country and sending them straight to the battlefield”, how “wives are giving in their husbands in Ukraine” or how “Lithuania is willing to send its troops to the war’s battlefield.”
