At the recent GlobalFact conference in Vilnius, Lithuania—a city situated less than 25 miles from the Russian-allied border of Belarus—journalists and researchers from across Europe gathered to address the escalating threat of Russian interference. As nations in Russia’s immediate orbit face a deluge of foreign meddling and hostile messaging, global media professionals are shifting their strategies from traditional reporting to deep-cover, investigative disruption. The panel provided a chilling, front-line account of how Russia attempts to destabilize democracies through propaganda, active sabotage, and psychological warfare.
Ukrainian journalist Anna Myroniuk underscored the necessity of transnational collaboration, illustrating how localized reporting can trigger tangible geopolitical consequences. Through a successful partnership with the Latvian-based publication Re:Baltica, Myroniuk and her colleagues exposed a Russian historian living in Riga who was secretly receiving financial support from the Kremlin. By leveraging leaked documents and local investigative muscle, the team provided the evidence necessary for the Latvian government to blacklist the individual, effectively ending his influence operation within their borders.
The tactics utilized by investigative journalists have grown increasingly daring, with some reporters choosing to infiltrate the very networks they investigate. In Estonia, reporter Holger Roonemaa and his colleagues went undercover to understand the mechanics of Russian-backed sabotage. By creating fake digital personas and engaging with recruitment Telegram channels, the team discovered that these operations are not merely digital; they involve concrete criminal requests. Recruits were tasked with burning down military facilities, identifying supply lines for Ukraine, and, in some cases, were offered cryptocurrency payments to commit acts of physical violence.
In Moldova, journalist Natalia Zaharescu participated in an extended undercover operation to expose how Russia buys political dissent on the ground. Her team infiltrated pro-Kremlin protest groups, where they confirmed that participants were being paid roughly 20 euros to attend demonstrations and distribute anti-European propaganda. Zaharescu participated in clandestine training sessions on Telegram, where handlers taught recruits how to manipulate social media algorithms and produce anti-democratic content, specifically targeting youth through TikTok and Facebook to demand bans on progressive social movements and cheaper gas.
In Poland, investigative author Grzegorz Rzeczkowski has taken a historical approach to uncovering the deep roots of Russian interference in Central Europe. By mining the archives of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance, Rzeczkowski documented how Russian intelligence connections from the communist era have evolved into modern-day support for far-right extremists. His research demonstrates that current pro-Russian political alignments are not merely spontaneous expressions of public discontent, but are instead part of a decades-long strategy initiated by pro-Kremlin intelligence services to manipulate the domestic political discourse.
Finally, the panel highlighted the power of digital counter-narratives in the era of disinformation. Pekka Kallioniemi, a Finnish academic, has gained international notoriety for his social media project “Vatnik Soup.” By utilizing humor and a “gossipy”, accessible tone to deconstruct how specific individuals and bots propagate pro-Kremlin lies, Kallioniemi has managed to engage audiences that might otherwise ignore dry geopolitical analysis. Together, these journalists represent a new, robust defense against Russian influence, combining old-school archival research, high-stakes undercover work, and innovative digital storytelling to hold malign actors accountable.
