The Nordic Council will finance the fight against “dependence” on Russian media content in the Baltic countries by sending funds to the Russian-language media in the region.
“The Russian-speaking minorities of the Baltic countries are increasingly dependent on media content from Russia. Given the social integration of linguistic minorities, this is an alarming trend, ”the organization said in a statement.
The decision on “targeted” financing was made as part of the “media program for the media of the Baltic countries”. As a result, the Nordic Council decided to “allocate a little over 2 million Danish kroner (about $ 300 thousand - RT ) for the continuation of this program until the end of 2021.” At the same time, the organization clarifies that the funds are allocated on the basis of applications and are used to create “high-quality journalistic products” in Russian in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
“The program is designed to help the Russian-speaking population integrate into the local society and contribute to its active participation in political discussions, debates and political decision-making,” the council said.
In addition, as emphasized by the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Paula Lehtomyaki, support for initiatives “that facilitate the participation of Russian-speaking minorities in the social development of the Baltic Sea states” is in the interests of the northern region.
- Nordic Council meeting participants in Copenhagen
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- © Xinhua
Recall that the Nordic Council, established in 1952, is a regional organization for the cooperation of parliamentarians of the countries of Northern Europe (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland).
The Nordic Council of Ministers has been funding Russian-language media in the Baltic States since 2015.
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The West has repeatedly accused Moscow and the Russian media of "misinformation", the purpose of which was the population of the Baltic countries, while no evidence of Russian guilt was presented.
For example, on October 13, the British analytical center in the field of international relations Chatham House published a report whose authors call for improving Western legislation in order to more effectively deal with the misinformation campaigns allegedly carried out by Moscow.
“The misinformation is largely due to the ineffectiveness of the protective measures taken by the dominant digital companies. It is necessary to develop a new regulatory framework with the active participation of former security guards - journalists and subjects of regulation of their activities, ”the document says.
In a July report by the European Council on Foreign Relations, Russia was called “one of the main sources of hybrid threats” for the EU. It is also noted that a number of states are active in cyberspace, involve the work of special services and large international companies that collect confidential information, which is especially dangerous for the European Union.
- EU flags
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In the spring, the Polish Institute of International Affairs under the government of the republic announced the need to follow the experience of Lithuania in the fight against "Russian misinformation." It is noted that the Polish side allegedly "becomes a victim of Russian disinformation campaigns." However, according to the organization, Moscow allegedly acts not only against Lithuania and Poland, but also against other European countries, as well as NATO.
Meanwhile, experts believe that, despite the high-profile accusations against Russia, the current decision of the Northern Council is quite formal.
“This step is necessary for the northern countries of Europe to show their active actions in the fight against the alleged negative influence of Russian content on the residents of the Baltic countries,” Vladimir Olenchenko, senior researcher at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, explained in an interview with RT.
He attributes this activity to Washington’s increased pressure on the Nordic countries.
“Before the United States began to increase its presence in the Baltic states, the northern countries did not particularly care about the topic of counteracting“ Russian misinformation. ” In order to explain, including its military presence in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Washington, they need reasons, and the “Russian threat” is best suited here. This makes it easier to convince the Baltic public of the need for close cooperation with the American side, ”the analyst emphasized.
Olenchenko also believes that the amount of funding speaks about the formality of the decision of the northern countries.
“The amount of funds allocated by the Russian-language media in the Baltic States is not so large. This money is unlikely to be enough even for employee benefits, ”the expert believes.
In turn, the president of the Russian Association for Baltic Studies Nikolai Mezhevich recalled that the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers, which are structurally interconnected, was initially friendly with Russia. According to him, until 2008, these organizations "tried not to fall into anti-Russian propaganda extremes."
“However, after the onset of the global economic crisis, the situation began to deteriorate, and after 2014 it became completely unacceptable. The activities of these structures were limited in the territory of the Russian Federation due to explicit politically biased anti-Russian statements and measures, ”Mezhevich stated in an interview with RT.
In his opinion, Denmark and Sweden, who are in a state of “serious domestic political crisis”, could also lobby the decision of the Northern Council.
“In order to unite society and overcome this crisis, they decided to find an external enemy in the person of Russia. Now in other northern countries, such a tendency is manifested, ”said the expert.
“Aggressive anti-Russian policy”
According to analysts, while the Nordic Council is trying to “protect” the Baltic states from the “influence” of Russian media, the media of the organization’s member countries themselves are sources of misinformation and unverified data.
So, in early October, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Moscow was shocked by the “strange information activity of the Russophobic section” emanating from the Norwegian media. According to her, the media of this country were overwhelmed with massive anti-Russian stuffing, concerning "the presence of Russian special forces and the active espionage activities of the Russian special services in Norway."
- The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharova
- RIA News
- © Sergey Mamontov
“All the conceivable and inconceivable facts were gathered in a heap, apparently intended, according to the intention of their authors, not to leave the Norwegian public with doubts about Russia's hostile intentions towards this state,” Zakharova said.
She noted that recently fake information of this kind appears more and more often. In her opinion, such cases are a departure from professional journalism standards and an apotheosis of unprincipledness.
“We can state that in Norway recently a systematic work has been carried out to plant the image of the enemy in the person of Russia. This is an aggressive informational anti-Russian policy, ”she said, urging her colleagues in the Norwegian Foreign Ministry to pay attention to this.
Recall, we are talking about, among other things, an article by the Norwegian online publication AldriMer, which spoke about "the actions of Russian special forces in Svalbard." The Russian embassy in the Scandinavian state called this information “a gross provocation” and part of “systematic work being carried out in Norway by certain circles to plant the image of the enemy represented by Russia.”
Experts, in turn, note that the information published by the media of the northern countries of Europe, "can not be regarded as reference."
“Often such materials contain a large number of errors or do not coincide with reality at all. Moreover, in some cases, we are talking about pure propaganda or fabricated news, ”says Vladimir Olenchenko.
From his point of view, information about the “Russian special forces” in Norway appeared in local newspapers not by chance.
“This message surfaced on the eve of how the Norwegian authorities showed interest in celebrating the liberation of Norway by the Red Army. This initiative was supported by the government and other government agencies, which the United States, which is famous for its fake news, might not like. Washington could thus try to push Oslo away from Russia, ”the analyst believes.