Report
Lithuania Weekly: Targeting Lithuania’s Government with Criticism and Conspiracy Theories
Kremlin-aligned Lithuanian media amplified anti-government narratives this week, criticizing Lithuania’s pro-Western stance and support for Ukraine as detrimental to its sovereignty. Articles also highlighted economic challenges, drawing parallels with social crises in Europe and questioning the EU’s capitalist model. Additionally, narratives claimed Ukraine is losing the war, suggesting peace depends on NATO abandonment and territorial concessions.
Weekly Reports
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.
Read more
Estonia Weekly: Economy and Western propaganda
This week there was a lot of talk about the 2024 Estonian budget and how this new budget will create more poverty and monetary hardships for the Estonian people. There was also a lot of mention of Prime Minister Kaya Kallas, her meeting with Ukrainian president Zelensky, and how many other politicians agree that her resignation would help the political situation in Estonia improve.
Read more
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.
Read more
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.
Read more
Estonia Weekly: Western Propaganda and Deportations
This week mostly talked about the way the West has affected the population, how it is affecting the youth of today and of the past, and why people should turn away from the western countries’ cultures in order to maintain their state of mind.
Read more
Lithuania Weekly: Another Removed Citizenship?
During this reporting period, Kremlin-aligned media channels in Lithuania promoted “Lithuanians are Russophobes” narrative. Following on the removal of Drobiazko’s citizenship, another case appeared in the Lithuanian media: famous Russian ballet dancer Ilzė Liepa, who openly praises Putin and his war in Ukraine, and who holds Lithuanian citizenship, is now being considered for removal of it. Some posts backed up the argument of Russophobia and called Liepa a “victim”, “Drobiazko-2”, and the whole situation as “outraging the Russophobes”.
Read more
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.
Read more
Estonia Weekly: Discrimination of Russian Speakers and Ukraine
This week primarily maintained the topics of economic situation, national language policy in Estonian schools and war in Ukraine. Also, the matters of European Union affairs are rather important, this week focusing on the question of veto rights for the EU member countries
Read more
Lithuania Weekly: Diminishing Support for Ukraine
Kremlin-aligned media emphasised continuous criticism of the proposed property tax, rising prices, and increasing crime rates in the country, arguing that it is becoming dangerous to live in Lithuania. These hostile actors also continued to undermine Lithuania’s ongoing support for Ukraine by either backing up their arguments that Ukraine is being prioritised over domestic matters, or by claiming that other countries in the world (primarily, the U.S.) have already withdrawn their support and insisting that Lithuania should follow suit.
Read moreShowing 154 to 162 of 191 results
Don’t miss a story.
We publish stories that change laws, lives, minds and the world. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our investigations delivered to your inbox.