What do Lithuanian people think if they are not forced to lie?

 "Šumskas, who presented the study" Lithuanian Society's Impact on Disinformation: Narrative Analysis ", admitted to Delfi that, unlike in previous similar studies, this time it was not intended to impose statements on respondents with or without agreement and did not try to formulate questions in this way. "This time we went with a white sheet. We didn't put those statements on our lips, they were talking, we just started on the road and then the repetition of those narratives was repeated," G. Šumskas emphasized." 

Cognition of the audience provides an opportunity to take preventive work to strengthen resilience to disinformation without waiting for any target group to fall victim to disinformation," the study emphasizes. Its organizer G. Šumskas acknowledged that the selection of cities for the prevailing narratives was not accidental - it was based on the annual "Municipal Welfare Index" compiled by the VPAI, which identifies the challenges of municipal social and physical security, education, viable economic development and demographic situation. That is why, according to the authors, the municipalities for this study were chosen to represent both the self-government of large cities (Klaipeda), large rural municipalities, where the majority are Lithuanians (Kėdainiai district), and those areas where there are many Russians (Visaginas) or representatives of Polish (Šalčininkai) ethnic communities. 

A deeper impression was helped by the fact that the survey was not conducted remotely, but by interviewing people live. "We wanted to touch on ethnically diverse groups, which are more often confronted with hostile information channels, live in certain bubbles, especially in Visaginas, where we have heard stories about vaccinations, where people are just waiting for Sputnik vaccinations," Šumskas added. After analyzing the results of the interviews, the most frequently repeated narratives were identified: COVID-19 destroyed the Lithuanian health system, COVID-19 was manipulated to impose control on the public, Lithuania does not have an independent foreign policy, the Lithuanian education system promotes inappropriate values, the collapse of the Soviet Union did nothing good.  

A representative survey was also conducted by Baltijos tyrimai: 1,004 Lithuanian residents were surveyed when the error did not exceed 3.4 percent. It was the results of this survey that were even more astonishing. Even their own voters are critical until now, it was thought that such negative narratives as distrust of the state, the EU, and a high percentage of assessments in favor of the Russian regime were unpopular in Lithuania. However, the results of the study show a slightly different picture. Of course, the impact of the pandemic was evident. For example, in the group of national policy statements, the most common narrative that negatively evaluates the health care system. 

28 percent 50% of respondents fully agree. agrees in part with the statement that the country's health care system is not functioning and that the COVID-19 pandemic has completely destroyed it. But the frustration spilled over into other issues as well. 

The economic environment of the country is also described negatively. As much as 29 percent. respondents fully agree with the statement that in Lithuania an honest person is not allowed to earn, and another 44 percent. rather agrees with such a statement. 

 Respondents tend to blame a specific political force - the Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats for economic failures: in total, as many as 59 percent. agreed with the statement that "the Conservative government robbed people - people's pensions and money went down". The most interesting thing, according to G. Šumskas, is that even 25 percent agreed with such a statement. respondents who identified themselves as TS-LKD voters. 

True, whatever the insights, the most surprising are the general answers. For example, 66% agree with the statement that "Lithuania is unnecessarily angry with its neighbors Belarus and Russia, because deteriorating relations will bring us economic damage". More than half (54%) of the respondents are convinced that "Lithuania does not have an independent domestic policy - everything is dictated by Brussels (European Union)."