DISINFO: Latvian authorities target Sputnik and Baltnews for not conforming to their political agenda
SUMMARY
Latvian authorities target Sputnik and Baltnews journalists because they do not conform to their political agenda
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation message about the Baltic States consistent with narratives about Russophobia.
This claim tries to portray EU sanctions on Russia, the result of its illegal actions in Ukraine, as unfair persecution against Sputnik and its employees, and against media freedom in general. In Latvia as well as in Lithuania and Estonia Sputnik and RT are being accused of spreading disinformation, violating copyrights, acting as a propaganda instrument. Different instances founded their accusations on publicly available results of investigations conducted by relevant authorities and regulatory bodies”.
In Latvia, in 2016, Latvia's domain registry shut the website of Sputnik Latvia after receiving a letter of concern from the Latvian Foreign Ministry, which drew attention to Sputnik's coverage of Ukraine and routine denial of the embattled nation's territorial integrity. In July 2019, Latvian authorities blocked access to the online portal baltnews.lv, owned by Rossiya Segodnya, citing EU sanctions against Russia. In 2020 Latvia has banned the state-owned Russian television channel RT, saying it is controlled by an individual - Dmitry Kiselyov, who is under EU sanctions. According to the Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), Latvia's national media watchdog, RT and the network of channels operated by it are under Kiselyov's "effective control" and has attempted to present Latvia as a failed state.
Sputnik was created in Russia by a Presidential decree with the aim to “report on the state policy of Russia abroad”. Sputnik is a regular source of pro-Kremlin disinformation. Baltnews site tries to represent itself as an independent media but in 2017 an investigation showed that it is linked to the Kremlin’s global disinformation network. Baltnews is connected to the Rossiya Segodnya state-owned media company, which includes Sputnik News.
Read here similar cases claiming that Russian Media are being discriminated in Baltic states and that the Baltic states are persecuting the Russian media.