D2.1 of the EU-funded project with the ID 118471, coordinated by the University of Tartu (UTARTU).
Filips Lastovskis | Delfi
This document contains 157 podcasts and videos produced by Delfi Estonia, Delfi Latvia and Delfi Lithuania. Our goal was to produce 90 podcasts and videos, therefore the result is 74% higher.
All three Baltic countries – Latvia (Delfi.lv), Lithuania (Delfi.lt), and Estonia (Delfi.ee) – are intensely focused on monitoring and countering disinformation, reflecting a shared geopolitical vulnerability as frontline states against Kremlin influence operations. The recurring themes across all platforms include the spread of falsehoods related to the war in Ukraine, NATO’s role, climate change denial, Covid-19 misinformation, AI-generated fakes, and viral hoaxes on social media. There is a strong emphasis on fact-checking, public education, and debunking both international narratives (for example: anti-vaccine claims, fabricated war events, manipulated statistics) and domestic fear-mongering (about national security, health, or economic collapse). Each outlet positions disinformation as a structural and continuous threat – not just a matter of isolated falsehoods, but a systematic campaign undermining democratic resilience, social cohesion, and trust in institutions.
Despite these shared concerns, each country exhibits distinct nuances in its disinformation landscape and media approach. Latvia’s Delfi.lv often emphasizes external disinformation sources, especially from Russia and Iran, and highlights the strategic use of disinformation in hybrid warfare and psychological operations. Lithuania’s Delfi.lt uses its “Melo detektorius” as a weekly digest, focusing heavily on viral internet myths, health-related hoaxes, and conspiracy theories, positioning fact-checking as a routine public hygiene function. Estonia’s Delfi.ee is more investigative and politicized, placing strong focus on domestic political actors (especially far-right EKRE networks) and exposing how they intersect with Kremlin narratives. Estonia also highlights the infrastructure behind disinformation – funding sources, media manipulation tactics, and radicalization channels – often through podcasts and journalistic experiments, creating a more analytical and systems-level narrative. These differences illustrate how each nation tailors its media response to its specific socio-political context while confronting a shared strategic challenge.