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WAR PROPAGANDA: Russia is liberating territories from Ukrainian occupation
WAR PROPAGANDA: Russia is liberating territories from Ukrainian occupation

Ukrainians are not an indigenous population, but rather the occupiers of Ukraine, and Russia is liberating its historical provinces, pro-Kremlin propaganda claims.

Marin Gherman
07 May 2024
Philippe Sands: “Every person can do terrible things”
Philippe Sands: “Every person can do terrible things”

Literature helps us understand the act of justice. To overcome the traumas, inherited from victims or executioners, we need both literature and justice. Writer and international law expert Philippe Sands explains how he embarked on a real-life Nazi literary hunt and why it's still relevant today.

Marian Voicu
03 May 2024
FAKE NEWS: Ukraine forbids Orthodox Christians from attending the Easter Vigil
FAKE NEWS: Ukraine forbids Orthodox Christians from attending the Easter Vigil

Kyiv is using the war against Russia to forbid citizens from coming to church on Easter ad to attack Orthodox traditional values, pro-Kremlin propaganda writes.

Reporting from Ukraine: “We’re already used to death”. Life in Kharkiv under Russian missile fire
Reporting from Ukraine: “We’re already used to death”. Life in Kharkiv under Russian missile fire

Kharkiv has been a target for the Russian army ever since the war broke out. Its inhabitants refuse to leave their homes and carry on with their lives, trying to preserve some sense of normalcy despite the constant shelling.

Putin's Russia is preparing for a long, large-scale war
Putin's Russia is preparing for a long, large-scale war

Beyond Ukraine, Moscow is working on three fronts: strengthening the regime by "shaking up" its own elite, establishing governments-in-exile in former Soviet satellites, and promoting a pro-Russian discourse in the West.

Cosmin Popa
30 Apr 2024
FAKE NEWS: Bucharest fears Moldovans might renounce the Union of 1859
FAKE NEWS: Bucharest fears Moldovans might renounce the Union of 1859

Moldovans in Romania might renounce the Union of Romanian Principalities of 1859, due to the aggressive Romanianization policy promoted by Bucharest in the Republic of Moldova, a so-called political theorist from Transnistria says.

Veridica
30 Apr 2024
Belarus: video “confessions” as a regime weapon against the opposition
Belarus: video “confessions” as a regime weapon against the opposition

Videos of opposition activists confessing trumped up crimes and praising Aleksandr Lukashenko have been increasingly used in Belarus.

Latvia’s tough stance towards Russia is undermined by business connections
Latvia’s tough stance towards Russia is undermined by business connections

From hardliner Dmitri Medvedev’s wine to raw materials for the arms industry, Russian imports are transiting Latvia in spite of the latter’s hawkish stance towards Moscow.

WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukraine, a Russian invention now run by non-Ukrainians
WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukraine, a Russian invention now run by non-Ukrainians

According to pro-Kremlin propaganda, Ukraine cannot exist without Russia, and the political elites in Kyiv are made up of non-Ukrainians who want to destroy the country.

Marin Gherman
26 Apr 2024
Estonia: a political drive against Russian speakers and Moscow’s Patriarchy
Estonia: a political drive against Russian speakers and Moscow’s Patriarchy

Political parties in Estonia are trying to deprive Russian speakers of the right to vote and to kick out of the country the Russian Orthodox Church, seen as a Kremlin mouthpiece.

Bulgaria Plunges in Autocracy, One Day a Time
Bulgaria Plunges in Autocracy, One Day a Time

Chiar sub privirea UE și după ani de potențiale reforme, democrația Bulgariei devine tot mai mult una de fațadă, dominată de partidul lui Boiko Borissov și de „sistem”.

(Pro)Russian disinformation narratives regarding Romania’s Defense Law
(Pro)Russian disinformation narratives regarding Romania’s Defense Law

The proposed amendments to Romania's National Defense Law gave rise to disinformation narratives fostered by Russian propaganda and pro-Russians in the Republic of Moldova.

Veridica
21 Apr 2024
Găgăuzia, the pressure point Moscow will use to block Moldova's EU accession
Găgăuzia, the pressure point Moscow will use to block Moldova's EU accession

The administration of the autonomous territorial unit of Găgăuzia in the south of the Republic of Moldova seems to be the latest instrument Russia will use to hinder the European accession of the Republic of Moldova.

WAR PROPAGANDA: NATO might occupy Ukraine, and Russia is defending its sovereignty
WAR PROPAGANDA: NATO might occupy Ukraine, and Russia is defending its sovereignty

Whereas Ukrainian politicians need the war to stay in power, Russia contributes to preserving the sovereignty of Ukraine in the face of threats caused by NATO.

Marin Gherman
19 Apr 2024
Bosnia and Herzegovina, between European aspirations and the danger of secession
Bosnia and Herzegovina, between European aspirations and the danger of secession

Bosnia and Herzegovina will start EU accession negotiations 30 years after the end of the civil war. The country has made little progress since, and the Serbs – backed by the Russians – are threatening secession.

WAR PROPAGANDA: Kyiv is using a possible nuclear disaster to blackmail the West
WAR PROPAGANDA: Kyiv is using a possible nuclear disaster to blackmail the West

Ukraine is blackmailing the West to cause a nuclear disaster in Europe, unless it receives support for its war effort, according to pro-Kremlin propaganda.

Marin Gherman
17 Apr 2024
Is Georgia about to score an own goal?
Is Georgia about to score an own goal?

Georgia could restrict the rights of the LGBT community. The move would hinder the country’s European integration.

Diana Shanava
16 Apr 2024
The war with Russia puts pressure on Ukrainian democracy
The war with Russia puts pressure on Ukrainian democracy

The decision to postpone the elections is used by Russian propaganda to question the legitimacy of Volodymyr Zelensky and divide Ukrainian society from within.

Marin Gherman
15 Apr 2024
The Stoltenberg proposal: a turning point for NATO. And for Ukraine
The Stoltenberg proposal: a turning point for NATO. And for Ukraine

A 100-billion-euro fund for Ukraine means a precise, long-term commitment with more offensive connotations than the support offered so far by the West.

From the Apocalypse to the “Great Reset”: The Good, The Bad and The East
From the Apocalypse to the “Great Reset”: The Good, The Bad and The East

One of the most recently developed conspiracy theories is the one about the “Great Reset”, whereby the “World Government” is purportedly seeking to establish a totalitarian regime on a global scale.

Marian Voicu
11 Apr 2024
WAR PROPAGANDA: The West wants to concede Ukrainian territories to Russia
WAR PROPAGANDA: The West wants to concede Ukrainian territories to Russia

The West is pressing Ukraine to concede certain territories to Russia, but this is a ruse, pro-Kremlin propaganda writes, adding that Zelenskyy will be put on trial for war crimes.

Marin Gherman
11 Apr 2024
(Pro)Russian fearmongering: Moldova’s
(Pro)Russian fearmongering: Moldova’s "Great Reset"

Russian propaganda, alongside politicians, publicists and clerics from the Republic of Moldova, has been promoting for years narratives regarding the threats to the identity and even the existence of Moldova and Moldovans.

Veridica
10 Apr 2024
The fight between Good and Evil, a Russian narrative also circulated in Romania
The fight between Good and Evil, a Russian narrative also circulated in Romania

Russia is fighting a “holy war” against the evil embodied by a coalition of Nazis, Islamists, Westerners and the LGBT community, according to a narrative promoted, among others, by the Moscow Patriarchate. The thesis regarding a “fight between Good and Evil”, which includes this narrative as well, transpires also in disinformation narratives, fake news and conspiracy theories promoted by Russia in the West and in Romania.

The Great Healthcare Reset
The Great Healthcare Reset

Fewer and fewer Romanians are getting vaccinated, a trend that gained momentum during the Covid-19 pandemic. The phenomenon is related to conspiracy theories regarding the population being made sick intentionally.

Cezar Manu
08 Apr 2024
For the first time in 30 years, Chisinau has the advantage in the Transnistria case
For the first time in 30 years, Chisinau has the advantage in the Transnistria case

Isolated from Russia and marked by an economic crisis, Transnistria is forced to accept measures from Chisinau that it would have otherwise ignored. Tiraspol clings to an aggressive rhetoric, but doesn't really have many options at hand.

DISINFORMATION: The Republic of Moldova renounces Transnistria
DISINFORMATION: The Republic of Moldova renounces Transnistria

By organizing the referendum on EU integration, Chișinău renounces Transnistria, says the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov. He basically reiterates the thesis on the disintegration of the Republic of Moldova, promoted in Transnistria and Găgăuzia.

Veridica
03 Apr 2024
Lukashenko’s Wagner army is more of a propaganda tool than an actual threat
Lukashenko’s Wagner army is more of a propaganda tool than an actual threat

The relocation of Wagner forces to Belarus following Prigozhin’s aborted rebellion proved to be a propaganda move. Within a year, Lukashenko’s Wagner army, brandished as a threat to neighboring NATO countries, virtually melted away. It also failed to help Lukashenko achieve his objective of foraying into the lucrative mercenary business in Africa.

WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukrainians and Russians are one and the same people and Russia is fighting a holy war
WAR PROPAGANDA: Ukrainians and Russians are one and the same people and Russia is fighting a holy war

Ukrainians and Russians are one and the same people and Russia is waging a holy war in Ukraine, reads a false narrative promoted by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Marin Gherman
01 Apr 2024
DISINFORMATION: Easter Sunday has become Transgender Day
DISINFORMATION: Easter Sunday has become Transgender Day

US President Joe Biden declared Catholic Easter the International Transgender Day of Visibility, according to a disinformation narrative also picked up in Romania.

Cezar Manu
31 Mar 2024
The Estonian city where people still believe old Soviet lies
The Estonian city where people still believe old Soviet lies

An exhibition in Narva, dedicated to the Soviet bombing of this Estonian city in 1944 and comparing it to Russian bombardments of Ukraine, has outraged some local residents and politicians. The reactions are at least partly influenced by overexposure to Soviet and Russian propaganda.

FAKE NEWS: The Chisinau Government imposes the European integration of Moldova
FAKE NEWS: The Chisinau Government imposes the European integration of Moldova

The government is forcing Moldova’s European integration on its citizens, according to a false narrative promoted by the fugitive criminal Ilan Shor and picked up by the pro-Kremlin media

Veridica
28 Mar 2024
Ukraine attacked Russia with “ISIS’ hand”. The story of an FSB/ex-KGB branded narrative
Ukraine attacked Russia with “ISIS’ hand”. The story of an FSB/ex-KGB branded narrative

Ukraine has been accused of being responsible for the terrorist attack in Moscow. Originally published on Telegram, the thesis was developed by Vladimir Putin and his close siloviki, the current and former head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov and Nikolai Patrushev, both ex-KGB, like Putin. The narrative rids the Russian authorities of all responsibility, plays well into the rhetoric about the Ukrainian-Western aggression and can be used to escalate the war. Arguments in its defense include falsehoods and an older conspiracy theory.