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An analysis by Debunk EU in cooperation with the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) showed an increase in the proportion of misleading and false content in Russian, according to a press release.
According to the head of Debunk EU. The analyst Algirdas Kazlauskas, politically motivated damaging messages about Lithuania’s position on the Astravas nuclear power plant are directed at the Russian-speaking audience, which remains vulnerable due to the lack of alternative Russian media.
According to the analyst, although the flow of disinformation remained high, the potential audience it reached was drastically reduced since in January there were no notable events such as the concealment of the accident at the plant in December.
Discredited EU List / Information Distribution by Type (of 425 Articles Examined)
It has been observed that the nature of misinformation has changed. If in December the Kremlin-controlled media was dominated by attempts to cover up the incidents at the Astravas nuclear power plant and diplomatic misunderstandings about the power plant, in January Lithuania focused on supposedly unsuccessful attempts to prevent Belarusian electricity from entering the local market.
An analysis by Debunk EU and the Foreign Ministry in January showed that 127 of the 425 articles examined related to Lithuania’s position on the Astrava nuclear power plant were misleading or false.
The first and biggest wave of misinformation coincided with January 11. According to the announcement issued by the Lithuanian Ministry of Energy, Lithuania still buys and consumes electricity produced by the Astravas nuclear power plant, although laws have been adopted prohibiting it.
“The plan announced by the Ministry to block the electricity produced by the Astravas nuclear power plant was interpreted as pressure from Lithuania on other Baltic countries. It should be mentioned that the electricity produced at the unsafe Astravas nuclear power plant enters local networks from the Russian infrastructure, where electricity produced in Russia or Belarus is jointly sold to neighboring countries, as well as to the Baltic countries, ”says A. Kazlauskas.
Disproving the EU timetable / Disinformation dynamics and misleading information against Lithuania’s position on the Astrava nuclear power plant
According to the expert, on the eve of Defenders of Freedom Day on January 12, it was announced that the Astrava nuclear power plant had been launched at full capacity. The following day, the Lithuanian government announced the formation of a commission to coordinate the synchronization of power grids and ensure the prevention of threats from the Astrava nuclear power plant.
“In the pro-Kremlin media, the move was presented as a scapegoat hunt and a victory for a rational and economically motivated Belarus. The aim is to show that Lithuania is a small country without political influence, incapable of influencing surrounding processes. ”Says A. Kazlauskas.
An analysis by Debunk EU and the Foreign Ministry revealed that the pro-Kremlin media tried to highlight the current differences between the Baltic states, in some cases distorting the facts.
“The issue was intensifying because the Baltic countries cannot agree on the purchase of electricity produced by the Astravas nuclear power plant. This message has been going around for some time to show how inadequate and irrational the Lithuanian government is, that even the closest allies do not want to support him, ”says A. Kazlauskas.
Disproving the EU calendar / Dynamics of narratives against Lithuania’s position in relation to the Astrava nuclear power plant according to the audience reached
Some publications claim that Lithuania is pressuring Latvia and Estonia to follow suit and refuse to buy Belarusian electricity.
In January, another new message emerged that Lithuanians could only blame themselves for building another nuclear power plant on the outskirts of the country. Lithuania’s resentment over the Astrava nuclear power plant can allegedly be explained not by stated environmental concerns, but only by political and economic reasons.
Some articles emphasized that Lithuania was jealous of Belarus, which was able to build a power plant. They emphasized that after the closure of the Ignalina nuclear power plant, plans to build a power plant in Visaginas remained unimplemented, and now the Astrava nuclear power plant allegedly became a direct competitor of the liquefied gas terminal in Klaipeda, a symbol of energy independence of Lithuania.
According to the expert, in the Kremlin-controlled media, the Lithuanian resistance and attempts to block the electricity produced by the Astravas nuclear power plant are an attempt to violate the antitrust laws of the European Union and are contrary to the Third Energy Package. “It was also announced that if the Alexander Lukashenko regime collapsed, Lithuania would immediately shift its focus to Belarusian electricity,” the analyst said.
Disprove the EU calendar / Distribution of media sources by audience reached
An analysis by Debunk EU and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed that the majority of the 127 articles examined (84.3%) were in Russian and only less than a fifth (15.7%) were in Lithuanian.
Sputniknews.ru, baltnews.lt Y tehnowar.ru published the most false and misleading articles about Lithuania’s position on the Astrava nuclear power plant. During the period of study in portals slow.ru, ria.ru Y rg.ru published articles reached 40%. part of the audience.
Disprove EU programming / Distribution of media sources by number of articles
Debunk EU is an initiative that brings together representatives of society, the media and the state to combat fake news that confuses and undermines confidence in the country. The initiative has received attention and funding from Google, the world’s largest search engine, as well as media giants such as The Financial Times and Deutsche Welle. The organization has presented its activities in 17 countries, including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Serbia.
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