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Reports

November 27th - December 3rd, 2023 by Otto Tabuns

Latvia Weekly: Domestic Violence and Corruption

From the findings of the examined week, there is a noticeable trend of the topic of the Istanbul Convention being decreasingly addressed in comparison to the prior weeks especially weeks leading up to its ratification in the Latvian Parliament. Whilst it is still addressed by the majority of the sources examined it is no longer getting as high of an engagement which could be the direct cause for the decrease in content discussing the topic. Similarly to the prior weeks, the private jet flights of the former prime minister and current foreign minister are still at the centre of discussion. Concerning engagement, there is a noticeable trend of the comment section featuring more critical comments hence that questioning the credibility of the information expressed.

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November 20th - November 26th, 2023 by Urtė Andriukaitytė

Lithuania Weekly: Finalised MG Baltic Case

During this reporting period, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal issued a ruling in one of the most resonant political corruption cases in Lithuanian history. Eligijus Masiulis, Raimondas Kurlianskis and Vytautas Gapšys were convicted of bribery and influence peddling in the scandalous MG Baltic political corruption case. Even though this case started back in 2016, being the largest one in Lithuanian history, it has still attracted mass attention. Besides intriguing citizens, the MG Baltic case also strongly affects the public’s opinions on the courts and the judicial system in general.

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November 20th - November 26th, 2023 by Otto Tabuns

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.

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November 13th - November 19th, 2023 by Otto Tabuns

Latvia Weekly: Distrust in Latvian Politicians and Traditional Family

From the findings examined this week, the main narrative has switched from the Istanbul Convention as it is moving forward to be potentially ratified by the judicial committee signaling the failure of the prior disinformation attempts. The two most discussed topics in the examined week are the referendum for the dismissal of the current Latvian parliament and the excessive spending of the previous prime minister and current foreign minister Krišjānis Kariņš who has spent around 600 000 euros in private jet flights during his post-as a prime minister. There is a noticeable trend of content posted on Facebook and TikTok reaching audiences that do not support the views of the creator and express a more critical view. Additionally, more content is being posted on Twitter however it reaches little to no engagement.

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