Page 10 - atoday

A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 29 december 2016
Lithuanian ‘elves’ combat Russian influence online

LIUDAS DAPKUS up to the Ukrainian con-
Associated Press frontation, said Monika
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) Garbaciauskaite, the ed-
— Elves against trolls — it itor-in-chief, and now has
sounds like something out full-time staff deleting the
of “The Lord of the Rings.” most extreme messages.
But to Ricardas Savukynas, The hostile propaganda
the battle he’s fighting is has led to more aggressive
no fantasy. action from both sides.
The 43-year-old business Lithuania’s leading com-
consultant and blogger is mercial news channel
part of an informal internet TV3 has been repeatedly
army of Lithuanians trying targeted by hackers who
to counter what they de- compromised the group’s
scribe as hate speech and networks three times, ac-
pro-Russia propaganda. cording to Sigitas Babilius,
“I am just a regular guy TV3’s head of news. Last
from Lithuania, a citizen, month, Lithuania banned
who once noticed that Russia’s RTR Planeta chan-
Russian propaganda is nel until February after a
being spread in this coun- Russian politician made an-
try by huge numbers of ti-U.S. comments deemed
groups on Facebook,” he In this Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016 photo, Ricardas Savukynas, the 43-year-old business consultant as “incitement to war, dis-
told The Associated Press and blogger works on his computer in Vilnius, Lithuania. cord and hatred.” Similar
over tea at a restaurant in Associated Press three-month bans on Rus-
Vilnius’ old town. “Seeing Kremlin propaganda. general election planned recently, that we have a sian state-owned channels
this I thought that it cannot “Elves are just one bit of for next year. pretty huge and long last- have been ordered in pre-
be a natural thing.” this,” he said. Lithuania, which like other ing disinformation cam- vious years.
Savukynas’ fellow volun- Talk of Russian interference Baltic nations was long sub- paign against our society,” Lithuania, meanwhile, has
teers — who’ve dubbed is bubbling on both sides ject to Moscow’s rule, feels said Tomas Ceponis, an launched a campaign on
themselves “elves” — pa- of the Atlantic in the wake those concerns more keen- analyst for the Lithuanian television urging citizens to
trol social media, coordi- of the recent U.S. election, ly than most — all the more military. He said the power report any suspicious activ-
nating their actions through which propelled Russia- so after Russia annexed the of propaganda was harder ity — on the street or on the
Facebook or Skype to ex- friendly candidate Donald Crimean Peninsula from to quantify than tanks or web.
pose fake accounts. On a Trump to power amid al- Ukraine in 2014. planes, but it was clearly The moves rankle Mos-
busy day, Savukynas said legations of Kremlin inter- And the elf versus troll war aimed at “really a very cow’s representative to
that fellow elves report as ference. Earlier this month, on Facebook is just one huge variety of targets.” the tiny NATO nation.
many as 10 or 20 to get Germany’s intelligence battlefield. News websites Delfi, one of the main news “I do not think that stick-
them removed. He himself agency accused Moscow and broadcasters have sites in Lithuania, was one ing a propaganda label
focuses on writing, main- of trying to destabilize the also been drawn into the of them. It found its com- on another’s point of view
taining a personal blog country with propaganda mix. ment sections filling up with is right,” Russian Ambas-
devoted to, among other and cyberattacks before its “We recognized, especially pro-Russia posts in the lead sador Alexander Udaltsov
things, deconstructing So- told the AP. “It’s always
viet nostalgia or pulling U.S. senator says Russia can expect better to use counterargu-
apart conspiracy theories. ments to prove your truth,
The elves do a decent hard-hitting sanctions but unfortunately our West-
job of “pinpointing some ern partners lack these
manipulation and some RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Rus- president-elect. Sen. Lind- dividual,” Graham told re- arguments and continue
social networking sites,” sia can expect hard-hit- sey Graham, porters in Riga, the Latvian with bans of Russian TV sta-
said Nerijus Maliukevicius, ting sanctions from United also a Republican, said capital. He didn’t elabo- tions.”
a researcher at Vilnius States lawmakers if an in- lawmakers from both ma- rate on possible sanctions. Lithuanian Foreign Minister
University’s Institute of In- vestigation proves that jor political parties remain Graham said Wednes- Linas Linkevicius makes no
ternational Relations, who Moscow interfered in the skeptical of the denials that day that “Russia is trying apology for the bans.
studies the role of media presidential election, have come from the gov- to break the back of de- “A lie is not an alternative
during times of conflict. But a U.S. senator said Wednes- ernment of Russian Presi- mocracies all around the point of view,” Linkevicius
in a telephone interview, day during a visit to Latvia. dent Vladimir Putin. world,” said. “One can say ‘it’s
Maliukevicius said that The Kremlin has been ac- “I predict there will be bi- adding that Latvia is “con- freedom of speech, every-
Lithuania needs a com- cused of interfering in the partisan sanctions com- stantly bombarded” with one can say whatever he
plex counterstrategy to campaign that made Re- ing that will hit Russia hard, “Russian aggression and in- wants.’ Of course, I agree.
beat what he describes as publican Donald Trump particularly Putin as an in- terference.” q q