Among the changes that could be observed in the rhetoric of the pro-Kremlin media, the narrative of withdrawal of the Baltic States from the BRELL network being unreasonable increased in its scale. Also in April, there was an iflux of messages about Lithuania’s impotence to resist the pressure of the European Union to close the “safe and profitable” Ignalina NPP and “failure” to contstruct new power plants in Visaginas. Along with this message, a new message about the closed plant in Ignalina potentially turning into an ecological disaster for the whole region appeared and was spread actively by hostile media.

As new vaccines are being developed, there seems to be that each jab is followed by a corresponding disinformation story. Throughout April, hostile media sources vigorously reported on side effects and fatalities correlated to vaccination to take advantage of anxieties and spread fear. In a continuous trend, stories on side effects and deaths were also exploited by the pro-Kremlin media as a background to claim the inferiority of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and prove Sputnik V was made to save humanity.

Covid-19 pandemic is fertile soil for the spread of conspiracy theories. The fear it causes, uncertainty of the source of the virus, complexity of new mutations and fast development of vaccines — all are a fuel for authors of such theories. Such disinformation is worryingly popular in Poland. DebunkEU.org experts analysed problematic information flow on April 1–30th. As a result, 142 disinformation articles in Polish language were found, which could be considered as a covid-19 conspiracy theory. Conspiracy theories account for nearly 25% of the disinformation about the coronavirus detected by Debunk EU in April in Polish language.

As March brought a couple of symbolic dates for NATO members, disinformation flow was tied to events such as the anniversaries of the Baltic countries joining the Alliance, and illegitimate referendum in Ukraine which led to annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia. In addition to questioning the validity of the Baltic membership in NATO, pro-Kremlin media also spread accusations that the Alliance is prepared to wage war, and NATO troops bring new COVID-19 strains to member countries.

On February 24th, president Kersti Kaljulaid gave a speech celebrating the 103rd anniversary of Estonian independence. Part of the speech addressed the education system in country. Soon after, the pro-Kremlin media started to claim that the president’s speech clearly divides the country, with statements going as far as claiming that the Russian speaking residents are being called inferior part of society.

The news on suspending vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine and delays in dose supplies caused a spike of false and misleading content claiming that vaccines were developed without rigorous testing. Additionally, the news on side effects and fatalities were tied to the immunisation with Western COVID-19 vaccines by the pro-Kremlin media to showcase the superiority of the Sputnik V. In March, disinformation flow was heavily influenced by increasing tensions between the EU and Russia, and many Kremlin sources claiming that the West was undertaking disinformation campaigns targeting Sputnik V.

Disinformation based on controversial, problematic elements of history is particularly difficult to assess. In Poland, the topic that was used to spread problematic information about the country throughout the recent years was the Remembrance Day of the Cursed Soldiers (March 1st, 2021). — Debunk EU experts analysed problematic information flow between February 26th and April 6th. As a result, 71 disinformation articles in Russian language were found, which broadly used the topic of Cursed Soldiers. [KU1] This subject was not covered regularly through the period of analysis. The ‘problematic information’ flow had a…

Each country has its history, and sometimes chapters tend to be controversial, especially for those unaware of or unwilling to see the facts. Third countries tend to misuse history for their benefits, selectively employing details, hiding, or even abusing historical context parts. One of Latvia’s most controversial history sections is the Nazi Germany’s mobilisation of Latvian soldiers into legions to fight the Soviet Union on the front line in 1943. Narratives related to those events are often used in Kremlin related media to undermine the image of Latvia.

The foreign policy of Lithuania towards Ukraine, accusations of ‘Russophobia’ and issues regarding the BelNPP stood out as the most targeted topics in disinformation concerning the meeting of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Gitanas Nauseda held on 17th — 19th March 2021. Throughout March 15th — 22nd 2021, Debunk EU detected 55 articles that were identified as disinformation and 2 content pieces as misinformation related to the meeting of the President of Ukraine and the President of Lithuania. The major peak was noticed on 19th March, stimulated by a speech given by…