The Baltic States benefited from the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact

Summary

The Baltic States decided that the 80th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact is a good occasion to shake the money bags of the US and Europe. The Baltic States, beneficiaries of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, released a joint statement asking for money to investigate the evil deeds of totalitarian regimes and compared the Soviet Union to Nazi criminals.

Disproof

This claim uses historical revisionism to reinforce common pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about WWII and the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.

On 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a non-aggression (Molotov-Ribbentrop) pact whose secret protocols divided the territories belonging to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Romania into Soviet and Nazi spheres of influence. The Baltic States were not beneficiaries of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Like other countries mentioned in the pact, they lost their independence and territories. Soviet occupation of the Baltic States lasted for 50 years, and resulted in mass deportations and repressions against local populations.

The European Parliament has proclaimed the 23rd of August as a European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes.

On the 80th anniversary of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania released a joint statement urging "the governments of all European countries to provide both moral and material support to the ongoing historical investigation of the totalitarian regimes. By acting in a concerted manner, we can counter more effectively disinformation campaigns and attempts to manipulate historical facts." No country stands to obtain financial gains from this initiative.

Go to search

publication/media

View original

View archived

Reported in: Issue 161
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 23/08/2019
Language/target audience: Russian
Country: USSR, Baltic states
Keywords: Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, USSR, WWII
Outlet: 60 Minut @ Rossiya 1 [26:20 - 26:46]

Hong Kong protests: US government censors Twitter and Facebook views that are critical of dominant Western narratives

The US government has compelled Twitter and Facebook to take down pages and accounts that allegedly “spread disinformation” about current protests in Hong Kong in order to censor views that are critical of dominant Western narratives about these protests.

Beginning in 2016, Western governments used allegations about “state-induced disinformation campaigns” and imaginary “Russian interference” in order to discredit opinions that question Western narratives as “threats to liberal democratic values”. Social media companies were pressured by the US and other Western governments to censor critical views and preserve the West’s media monopoly. This strategy, first applied to Russia, is now being applied to China and the Hong Kong protests.

August 27, 2019

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative claiming that accusations by Western governments about pro-Kremlin and pro-Beijing disinformation campaigns [or other state-sponsored disinformation activities] are an instrument to censor opinions that are critical of dominant Western narratives. The article also uses a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative that social media companies are controlled by the US government, and therefore censor any message which is not in line with dominant Western narratives.

YouTube's decision to close 210 channels that were uploading videos related to the ongoing protests in Hong Kong came after an investigation proved that these channels were part of a coordinated influence campaign against pro-democracy protests made by the Chinese government. Twitter and Facebook have also taken steps to block what they described as a state-backed Chinese misinformation campaign.

YouTube – like Facebook and Twitter – aims to censor pro-Chinese views on the protests in Hong Kong

YouTube – like Facebook and Twitter – aims to censor pro-Chinese views on the protests in Hong Kong. This is why YouTube has recently disabled 210 channels which publish “inadequate” views of such protests. The three social media companies seek to censor content which is supportive of Russia, China, Syria, Iran, Venezuela and other countries considered unfriendly by the US.

August 27, 2019

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming Western media and social networks censor content which is supportive of Russia, China, Syria and other governments considered unfriendly by the US, or critical of dominant Western narratives.

YouTube’s decision to take down 210 channels spreading disinformation came after the Google-owned service disclosed that channels in this network behaved in a coordinated manner while uploading videos related to the Hong Kong protests and appeared to be part of a coordinated influence campaign backed by the Chinese government.

Decaying Latvia and Lithuania envy Belarus its strategic relations with Russia

At present Belarus and Russia actively work on a joint strategy for closer integration. Belarus is the closest Russian ally and its strategic partner. Any European state can envy this, particularly decaying and begging Lithuania and Latvia. However, even if they wholeheartedly wanted to join the Union State of Belarus and Russia, the EU would not support this idea. Hence, the Baltic states have to keep dying.

August 27, 2019

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narratives about socio-economic degradation of the Baltic states in the EU.

There is a public consensus in the Baltic States on the benefits of EU membership. 71% of Lithuanians and 54% of Latvians believe that EU membership is a good thing for their countries, whereas 5% and 3% of these countries' populations think the opposite, the European Parliament’s Spring 2019 Eurobarometer shows.