The Baltic countries in northern Europe are the target of disinformation campaigns, mainly orchestrated by Russia, their immediate neighbour. What is the content of these campaigns? How is it produced? Our correspondent in Vilnius gives us some possible answers.
In the offices of the Lithuanian Army’s Strategic Communications Department, Ingrida spends her day with her eyes glued to her computer. She works as an analyst tracking disinformation campaigns targeting Lithuania. Propagandists spread the information through social networks, fake documents and photos, there were falsified official decrees that ordered the sending of soldiers to Ukraine. With this false information, they are trying to instill fear and cause distrust in local authorities.. »
But where does this false information come from? Nerijus Maliukevicius is a researcher at Vilnius University. False information is his specialty. In 2005, it was possible to notice that some institutions of the presidential administration under Putin were responsible, for example, the department for cultural ties with neighboring countries. There, the strategy, themes, and even tools were developed. This department provided articles for free for the Russian-language press in the Baltic countries. Thus, a new reality was formed. »
Use of artificial intelligence
Then there was the stage of troll factories, places where employees flooded online publications with pro-Russian comments. Now, artificial intelligence is powering fake accounts on social networks. Janis Sarts heads NATO’s Center of Excellence for Strategic Communications in Latvia. The Baltic authorities are very proactive on this issue, to be a link in the dissemination of the Russian propaganda has consequences. This is one of the reasons, in my opinion, why we don’t find troll factories here in the Baltics. »
To limit the spread, the Baltic states have also banned the retransmission of Russian television channels. Daniela Vukcevic works for Debunk, a Lithuanian organization that fights against fake news. While it is impossible to defuse them before they appear, there is only one solution: ” Lies always travel faster than the truth. Media education is essential and must be part of school curricula. »
For researcher Nerijus Maliukevicius, the question of responsibility is never raised. Why couldn’t the authorities reveal, as they did before the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022, how these disinformation operations are carried out?, he asks. I think we are involved in a new type of war. »
A war that the Baltic countries have been suffering for a long time and which they take very seriously.