The National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) of Latvia has restricted access to yet another website that spreads Russian propaganda and disinformation, Delfi reports, citing the official publication Latvijas Vēstnesis.
The NEPLP conducted a review of the website natoexercises.info and found that its audiovisual and written publications were part of Russia’s propaganda and disinformation campaign.
The propaganda site disseminated distorted and false information about world events and the war in Ukraine, justifying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It portrayed Russia and its allies – Belarus, China, North Korea – in a positive light and published information aimed against Latvia’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
“The content’s goal is to discredit Western countries and their organizations, to smear Latvia, justify Russia’s military aggression and its crimes in Ukraine, as well as positively portray the actions of Russia and its allies,” the statement said.
The website published materials in 15 languages, including Latvian. Among other claims, it alleged that “Canada is concealing the deployment of troops to Ukraine, under the guise of soldiers supposedly participating in missions in Latvia” and that NATO’s goal is to “destroy Ukrainians.”
The sources used by the site include several information outlets engaged in Russian disinformation and propaganda, such as sputnik.by, ria.ru, ukrinform.ru, tass.ru, eadaily.com, topwar.ru, news-front.info, rusvesna.su, russian.rt.com, ritmeurasia.org, and pravda.ru, all of which have already been blocked in Latvia.
The council believes that spreading such information deliberately misleads the public about Russia’s true objectives in Ukraine, incites hostility against the Ukrainian state and people, negatively impacts the peaceful coexistence of different social groups, and creates risks of various negative provocations that pose a significant threat to Latvia’s state security, public order, and safety.
In October 2024, the National Electronic Mass Media Council of Latvia blocked access to 17 portals spreading Russian propaganda. Additionally, in late June, Latvia blocked seven pro-Kremlin portals that disseminated distorted and false information about Russia’s war against Ukraine and justified Russian war crimes.
