Last month saw an increase in the flow of disinformation in Lithuania, with targets including the Bayraktar combat drone fundraising campaign, the Lithuanian military said on June 13.
Analysts recorded 411 cases of negative information activities in May, up from 379 in April. The military makes its findings public, providing an analysis of topics at the centre of disinformation amid what it says are “informational attacks”.
“The flow of disinformation directed against Lithuanian defence capabilities, NATO, national and international exercises accounted for 41.61% of the total disinformation flow,” according to the report.
A public campaign in Lithuania to purchase and donate a Bayraktar combat drone to Ukraine also became subject to hostile information activities, the military said. The campaign and Lithuanian citizens were mocked and called “beggars” who raised funds for “a bandage for a dead man”, the report said.
Meanwhile, foreign policy topics accounted for 26.52% of the total disinformation last month, with the May 9 resolution in the parliament calling Russia’s actions in Ukraine a genocide receiving particular attention.
According to the Lithuanian military, Russia’s rhetoric was aimed at intimidating the society and deliberately undermining the image of the country in the Russian-speaking information environment. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
