CEPA and Stopfake counter-attack the German language RT channel

At the end of October, Propastop wrote about a news story on the German language RT channel, which through propaganda methods tried to demonstrate discrimination against the Russian-speaking population in Estonia. Propastop paid attention to the inclination, false testimony and one-sidedness of the news story. Among other accusations, the video story claimed that applying for Estonian citizenship was expensive and consequently for many non-citizens it was beyond their means.

This false claim at the beginning of November has been dispelled using in-depth material by Urve Esla, the co-editor of the European Political Studies Centre (CEPA). The story was published in English both in the CEPA centre and in the Russian influence activities analysis group stopfake.org as well as appearing on social media

Using public sources Eslas brings out the cost of the various parts of the language study, citizenship application, language examination and passport application, the first part which is free, the application fee being 13€ and the application for a passport costing 25€. Language costs vary depending on the source but Esla points out that there are free solutions to studying the language as well as possible reimbursements from the state for successful language proficiency in the particular course.

The rejection of false claims about Estonia in the non-Estonian media is complicated and time-consuming, but it is a necessary measure to defend ourselves against propaganda attacks from behind the border. Fortunately there have been other similar positive cases in recent months and Propastop’s editorial staff hopes it will continue and garner momentum.