Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

NATO think-tank enrolls English-language journalists and activists covering Belarus – and Twitter looks the other way

NATO think-tank enrolls English-language journalists and activists covering Belarus – and Twitter looks the other way

Some of the top journalist-activists covering Belarus in English on Twitter are now working for organizations that defend the interests of Western arms manufacturers – with no disclaimer for their followers.

On Wednesday, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) – based in Warsaw, Poland and Washington, DC – announced it was “thrilled” to welcome Tadeusz Giczan as a fellow. He has previously worked with NEXTA, described as “Belarus’s largest Telegram channel.”


CEPA further praised Giczan for doing “incredible work covering events in Belarus,” referring to weeks-long protests that have tried to overturn the result of the presidential election. From the very beginning of the revolt against President Alexander Lukashenko, NEXTA has openly sided with the demonstrators.

The London-based, Minsk-born, Polish-educated Giczan looks to be the perfect fit for CEPA, which “believes that the strategic theater encompassing the region between Berlin to Moscow, and from the Barents Sea to the Black Sea, represents an area vital of strategic interest to the United States.”

Why, exactly, the territory claimed by the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the ‘Intermarium’ project championed by Warsaw between the world wars is vital to the US is never fully explained. That hasn’t stopped CEPA from receiving funding from the US State Department, regime-change specialists at the National Endowment for Democracy, weapons makers such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Bell – or NATO, for that matter.

Giczan is not the only activist-journalist-expert on all things Belarus to make the jump from social media activism to the think-tank world. Two other major voices have done so over the past month, landing at CEPA’s cousin the Eurasia Center, a subset of the Atlantic Council.

The Atlantic Council is the pre-eminent NATO think-tank championing the idea that Russia is an existential threat to Europe and the US, in order to justify NATO’s reason for being long past its Cold War expiration date. Now it has enlisted in its ranks Hanna Liubakova and Franak Viačorka, two influential online voices on Belarus.

Liubakova is described as a former journalist with Outriders, an “international multimedia platform” run out of Poland. Viačorka, meanwhile, contracted with the US Agency for Global Media – USAGM, the official propaganda arm of the government in Washington – and was the “creative director for the Belarus service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).”


It is unlikely this exodus to think-tank-land was driven by Lukashenko’s government revoking the credentials of journalists working for Western outlets, on grounds that they allegedly fomented unrest. Not the least because that decision came down on August 29, four days after Liubakova made the jump to the Atlantic Council, and two weeks after Viačorka had done so, on August 14.

What’s even more interesting is that they sought refuge in the arms of NATO, which claims to be entirely uninvolved in the events in Belarus. Yet here is the alliance’s narrative-shaping arm, eager to “amplify the voices” of journalist-activists cheering on Lukashenko’s opposition.

Last but not least, while social media platforms like Twitter have in recent weeks labeled outlets like RT, Sputnik and Xinhua as “state-affiliated,” the same standard was not applied to British, German, French or US outlets controlled and funded by their governments, including Viačorka’s former employer, USAGM.

Nor has Twitter compelled the disclosure that the “think tanks” now amplifying activist takes on Belarus have a direct interest in stoking tensions in Eastern Europe in order to boost NATO’s presence, as well as weapons sales, in the region.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
×