How Belarusian state media talked about its EU neighbours — August 2025

Summary / TL;DR

Polandremains the main focus with 223 videos (51.4% of the total), showing an increase compared to July. The main narratives are related to accusations of militarization and aggressive intentions. High-risk materials include themes of a “Masonic conspiracy” and military preparations.

Lithuaniaranks second with 132 videos (30.4% of the total). The content focuses on criticism of political policies, economic problems and social issues. There are also materials about “labor slavery” and corruption.

Latviareceives the least attention – 79 videos (18.2% of the total). Coverage concerns the problems of the Russian-speaking population, economic difficulties and criticism of domestic policy.

Thematic areas
High-risk stories are dominated by stories about military conflicts, political instability and socio-economic problems. The fact-checking claim bank contains 20 controversial statements that require priority verification.

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Methodology

The analysis was conducted based on metadata and fragments of YouTube videos of Belarusian state media. The methods of automatic tonality analysis, thematic frame extraction and temporal analysis were used. The analysis of disinformation narratives was conducted and hypotheses for future classical fact-checking publications were prepared.
Where LLM capabilities were used:

• transcribing video into text;
• to assess disinformation risks;
• fact-checking.

For each country, summary charts and representative quotes have been prepared.

General overview
Analysis period: 01.08.2025 – 31.08.2025

Poland
Video:223 |Views:14,784,654 |Engagement:2.72%
Top channels:TV channel ONT, SBTV, CTVBY

Lithuania
Video:132 |Views:6,708,535 |Engagement:2.72%
Top channels:TV channel ONT, SBTV, CTVBY

Latvia
Video:79 |Views:2,766,187 |Engagement:3.02%
Top channels:SBTV, ONT TV Channel, NEWS.BY: news of Belarus and the world

Dynamics of mentions by week

The graph shows peak activity in the second week of August, especially for Poland (around 55 mentions) and Lithuania (around 35 mentions). Coverage intensity declines towards the end of the month, but remains consistently high for Poland.

Distribution by channels and countries

LLM Analysis of Disinformation
Analyzed307video using gpt-4o-mini
Detected69videos with a high risk of misinformation (22.5% of those analyzed).AI Analysis Results

Basic techniques:

• Emotional manipulation (dominant)
• False facts
• Dehumanization
• Conspiracy theories

AI analysis revealed that 22.5% of the content contains signs of disinformation. Emotional manipulation (dominated in all materials), false facts and dehumanization prevail. Conspiracy theories are used less often, which may indicate an attempt to make the materials appear factual.

Top High Risk Videos

Name	Channel	Country	General risk	False facts	Emotional manipulation	Priority
Masonic Conspiracy! How Poland Established a Dictatorship…	SBTV	Lithuania	10.0	10.0	8.0	high
Ukrainian soldiers in a tank wanted to run over an old man…	CTVBY	Poland	10.0	10.0	10.0	high
💥Who really owns the Suwalki Corridor…	SBTV	Lithuania	9.0	8.0	7.0	high
Ukrainians, IT’S TIME TO GET READY! Poland won’t tolerate this any longer…	SBTV	Poland	9.0	8.0	9.0	high
Ukrainian soldiers were robbing people near M…	CTVBY	Poland	9.0	10.0	8.0	high
Selling passports and more! How BNR activists…	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	8.0	7.0	high
Labor slavery is thriving in Lithuania! Here’s what’s going on there…	CTVBY	Lithuania	8.0	8.0	7.0	high
Sprat mines! LITHUANIA spends millions on dangerous…	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	8.0	7.0	high
The entire Lithuanian government has resigned! What is th…	CTVBY	Lithuania	8.0	8.0	7.0	high
🔴Who is SETTING the world on fire? Who NEEDS WAR to survive…	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	0.0	8.0	high

Bank of statements for fact-checking
Systematization of controversial statements creates a basis for further verification and counteraction of disinformation.
Revealed20statements requiring priority verification

No.	Video Title	Statement	Channel	Country	Risk	Priority	Status
1	Masonic conspiracy! Like Poland…	masonic conspiracy	SBTV	Lithuania	10.0	high	requires verification
2	Masonic conspiracy! Like Poland…	dictatorship in Central Lithuania	SBTV	Lithuania	10.0	high	requires verification
3	Ukrainian soldiers on a tank h…	Ukrainian soldiers wanted to crush old people in a tank	CTVBY	Poland	10.0	high	requires verification
4	💥Who owns the Suwalki…	Historical Lithuania includes three parts	SBTV	Lithuania	9.0	high	requires verification
5	💥Who owns the Suwalki…	The Suwalki Corridor Belongs to the Masons	SBTV	Lithuania	9.0	high	requires verification
6	Ukrainians, IT’S TIME TO GET READY! Pol…	Poland will no longer tolerate Banderaism	SBTV	Poland	9.0	high	requires verification
7	Ukrainian soldiers were engaged in…	Ukrainian soldiers were robbing people near Mariupol	CTVBY	Poland	9.0	high	requires verification
8	They sold passports and more…	Lithuania spent money on the project	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
9	They sold passports and more…	Lithuania sold passports	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
10	They sold passports and more…	BNR figures mired in financial fraud	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
11	They sold passports and more…	budget embezzlement in Lithuania	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
12	Labour market is thriving in Lithuania…	Labor slavery is thriving in Lithuania	CTVBY	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
13	Labour market is thriving in Lithuania…	what do they do with refugees there	CTVBY	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
14	Sprat mines! LITHUANIA spends mi…	Lithuania produces mines	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
15	Sprat mines! LITHUANIA spends mi…	Lithuania Spends Millions on Canned Food	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
16	The entire Lithuanian government submitted…	The entire Lithuanian government has resigned	CTVBY	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
17	The entire Lithuanian government submitted…	Lithuania on the brink of a deep political crisis	CTVBY	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
18	🔴Who is SETTING FIRE on the world? Who is WAR…	Lithuania has begun to independently carry out actions that could threaten peace	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
19	🔴Who is SETTING FIRE on the world? Who is WAR…	Who is setting the world on fire?	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification
20	🔴Who is SETTING FIRE on the world? Who is WAR…	Who needs war to survive?	SBTV	Lithuania	8.0	high	requires verification

Videos with the highest risk for neighboring countries with Belarus

Lithuania – Top Episodes

We show up to 15 records with the highest risk.

Latvia – Top Episodes

We show up to 15 records with the highest risk.

Poland – Top Episodes

We show up to 15 records with the highest risk.