Fake reports about military drones spread widely in Lithuania

Lithuanian authorities have reported a large-scale wave of disinformation circulating on social media following an օդ alert declared on May 20 over the suspected flight of a drone across the country’s territory.

According to LRT, citing the National Crisis Management Centre, officials say the online space has been flooded with misleading content, including manipulated and partially generated images allegedly depicting foreign military drones and their supposed crash sites.

The NCMC also identified the spread of conflicting narratives. These range from outright denial that any drones were present to conspiracy theories claiming that foreign specialists had arrived in Lithuania to stage provocations. Officials noted that a significant share of this content is being disseminated from outside the country.

Authorities assess the campaign as an attempt to destabilise the situation, erode public trust in state institutions, and incite panic among the population.

In response, citizens have been urged to rely exclusively on official sources of information and to approach content circulating online with caution and critical scrutiny.

By Tamilla Hasanova