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Reports
Latvia Weekly: Local Actors Amplify Stories of Oppression and Resistance
Local populist or Kremlin-aligned political actors painted a picture themselves as persecuted victims of an oppressive establishment while positioning their controversial stances as vindicated common sense. This narrative delegitimizes the state and portrays their radical populism as righteous resistance against systemic persecution.
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Latvia Weekly: Opposition Leaders Portray Themselves as Victims of Systemic Bias
Two Latvian opposition politicians have constructed narratives of systematic persecution, with Rosļikovs framing his prosecution for pro-Russian activities as evidence of disproportionate punishment for defending minority rights, while Ainars Šlesers alleges state-funded media bias that promotes government-aligned causes while suppressing dissent. Both narratives challenge the legitimacy of Latvia's institutions by portraying courts and public media as politicized tools of the ruling coalition rather than neutral arbiters, using claims of selective justice to position themselves as martyrs and mobilize support among audiences suspicious of institutional fairness.
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Latvia Weekly: Disinformation Peaks as Saeima Votes to Withdraw from the Istanbul Convention
Following the Parliamentary vote for Latvia to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, opposition politicians launched disinformation campaigns falsely claiming the anti-violence treaty would permit men in women's restrooms and attacking supporters as foreign agents. These narratives deliberately distorted the Convention's actual purpose of protecting women from violence, replacing substantive debate with inflammatory rhetoric about gender identity and national betrayal.
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Latvia Weekly: Istanbul Convention Withdrawal Debate Revives Old Conspiracies
Despite Latvia's ratification of the Istanbul Convention in 2023 and its proven benefits for violence victims, conservative politicians in preparation for parliamentary elections next year have launched a withdrawal campaign fueled by baseless disinformation claims that the treaty promotes "117 genders," “pedophilia,” and moral decline. This deliberately misrepresents a violence prevention treaty as a conspiracy against traditional values echoing narratives disseminated by Russia.
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