When Official Stories Became Belarus's Biggest Hoaxes
Belarus has fewer well-documented “classic” hoaxes—fake monsters, forged relics or spectacular newspaper inventions—than many national histories.
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Introduction
These episodes matter because they show that deception does not always depend on a convincing forgery. It can work by controlling the setting in which evidence appears: an air-traffic control room, a detention cell, a television studio or a trusted news website. The central question is therefore not simply whether a claim was false, but who possessed the authority to make it look official, suppress competing accounts and punish people who challenged it.
When the “hoax” was real: the teddy-bear airdrop
On 4 July 2012, two Swedish activists flew a light aircraft from Lithuania into Belarusian airspace and dropped hundreds of teddy bears carrying messages in support of free expression. The operation was organised by the Swedish communications agency Studio Total as a theatrical protest against censorship. It was illegal, deliberately provocative and designed for publicity—but the flight itself was real.[Reuters]reuters.comBelarus sacks top brass over teddy bear scandalBelarus sacks top brass over teddy bear scandalJuly 31, 2012 — 31 Jul 2012 — Authorities in Minsk initially denied that the air dr…
Belarus’s Defence Ministry initially described the released video clips as a hoax. That denial was not wholly implausible to outside observers. The organisers were publicity professionals; their first films were edited; the idea of an unnoticed aircraft scattering parachuting toys over one of Europe’s most tightly controlled states sounded almost too absurd to be true. Studio Total answered by releasing lengthy unedited footage, while witnesses inside Belarus supplied photographs and videos of their own.[RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty]rferl.orgRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty'Teddybear Airdrop' Takes Aim At Belarus DenialsRadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty'Teddybear Airdrop' Takes Aim At Belarus DenialsJuly 13, 2012 — 13 Jul 2012 — A Swedish public-relations firm…
The official story eventually collapsed. President Alexander Lukashenko acknowledged that the aircraft had crossed the border, and the heads of the border guard and air defence were dismissed. The reversal transformed the incident from a media stunt into a lesson about institutional credibility: the authorities had called authentic evidence fake because accepting it would expose a serious security failure.[Reuters]reuters.comBelarus sacks top brass over teddy bear scandalBelarus sacks top brass over teddy bear scandalJuly 31, 2012 — 31 Jul 2012 — Authorities in Minsk initially denied that the air dr…
The consequences were not confined to embarrassed officials. Journalists and others associated with photographs of the bears were detained or fined. That response helped the stunt achieve its intended symbolism. A soft toy became dangerous not because anyone believed it possessed unusual powers, but because the state’s denial made the object into evidence of both a border breach and an attempt to suppress an inconvenient fact.[Reuters]reuters.comBelarus fines two for toy bear photos after airdropBelarus fines two for toy bear photos after airdropAugust 9, 2012 — 9 Aug 2012 — Authorities in Belarus arrested and fined two jou…
The episode also illustrates an important distinction. The airdrop was a media stunt, not a fraudulent news story: its organisers wanted the public to discover that it had really happened. The misleading element came chiefly from the official attempt to recast authentic footage as fabrication.
The false bomb threat that diverted Flight FR4978
Belarus’s most internationally significant documented deception occurred on 23 May 2021, when Ryanair Flight FR4978 was travelling from Athens to Vilnius. Belarusian air-traffic controllers told the crew that a bomb threat had been received and recommended landing in Minsk. After the aircraft landed, Belarusian authorities arrested opposition journalist Raman Pratasevich and his travelling companion Sofia Sapega. No bomb was found.
The International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for civil aviation standards, conducted a fact-finding investigation. Its final findings concluded that the bomb threat was deliberately false and that senior Belarusian officials had orchestrated the diversion under that pretext. The ICAO Council condemned the incident as unlawful interference with civil aviation.[ICAO]icao.intCouncil President presents briefing to UN Securityfalse pretext of a bomb threat, as presented in the final report of the fact-finding investigation team that the Council considered on 18…
What made the operation persuasive in the cockpit was not an elaborate physical fake. It was the institutional authority behind the warning. Commercial pilots cannot casually dismiss a reported explosive device, especially when the message comes through air-traffic control. The falsehood was therefore embedded in a safety system designed to make crews respond cautiously.
The chronology of the supposed warning became central to exposing it. Investigators examined communications, recordings, the handling of the alleged email and testimony from the Minsk controller involved. Ryanair repeatedly sought a copy of the message, while Belarusian authorities did not initially provide the investigators with all the requested information. Later evidence, including recordings and testimony, enabled ICAO to reach a firmer conclusion about official involvement.[ICAO]icao.intevent involving ryanair flight fr4978 in belarus airspace on…July 18, 2022 — several occasions, to obtain a copy of the bomb threa…
The incident differs sharply from an internet rumour. It was a false claim used as an operational instrument, with passengers and crew placed inside the deception before the wider public knew it existed. Its immediate beneficiary was the Belarusian security apparatus, which gained custody of a prominent government critic. Its wider cost was damage to trust in civil-aviation communications: a system in which warnings must normally be acted upon before they can be independently verified. The European Union described the event as involving a deliberately false threat, senior government participation and danger to the aircraft and those aboard.[Mobility and Transport]transport.ec.europa.euOpen source on europa.eu.
Confessions made for the camera
After the disputed presidential election of August 2020 and the mass protests that followed, Belarusian state media and pro-government social-media channels increasingly broadcast videos in which detained people appeared to confess, apologise or renounce political activity. These recordings often resembled straightforward witness testimony: the subject faced the camera, gave a name and repeated an account of supposed wrongdoing.
Human-rights organisations, former detainees and journalists have documented reasons not to treat these performances as voluntary. Arrested people were frequently held without normal access to lawyers or relatives, while reports of beatings, threats and degrading treatment were widespread. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe found serious and systematic abuses connected with the repression following the 2020 election.[OSCE ODIHR]odihr.osce.orgOpen source on osce.org.
A detailed briefing by the World Organisation Against Torture describes the confession videos as an organised practice rather than isolated improvisation. According to the documented testimony, detainees have been given words to repeat, required to perform several takes and filmed while vulnerable or visibly distressed. Finished videos may include official symbols, music, labels and editing that turn a coerced statement into a polished piece of propaganda.[OMCT]omct.orgOpen source on omct.org.
The 2021 case of Raman Pratasevich demonstrated the problem to an international audience. Soon after his arrest following the forced landing of Flight FR4978, Belarusian television released recordings in which he appeared to accept responsibility for organising unrest and later praised Lukashenko. His family, colleagues and human-rights observers argued that his manner and circumstances strongly suggested coercion.[The Washington Post]washingtonpost.comThe Washington Post Belarus dissident's 'confession' video suggests coercionThe Washington Post Belarus dissident's 'confession' video suggests coercion
These videos are not necessarily “fake” in the sense of using digital alteration. The person on screen is real, and the words may genuinely have been spoken. The deception lies in concealing the conditions of production. A recording made under detention and pressure is presented using the visual language of a voluntary interview.
That distinction is crucial. Viewers are encouraged to judge the subject’s words while being denied information about threats, scripting, repeated takes or physical treatment. The result is a form of staged evidence: authentic images arranged to support a potentially false account of consent, guilt and remorse.
Ghostwriter and the counterfeit news report
Another Belarus-linked model of deception removes the need to build a fake news outlet at all. The campaign known as Ghostwriter combined cyber intrusion with influence operations. Attackers compromised websites or social-media accounts and used them to publish fabricated material, particularly stories designed to undermine NATO, Poland, Lithuania and other neighbouring states.
Cybersecurity firm Mandiant assessed with high confidence that the hacking group designated UNC1151 had links to Belarus and that Ghostwriter’s information operations supported Belarusian government interests. It expressed moderate confidence that the campaign operated with Belarusian sponsorship. The researchers cited technical indicators, activity associated with Minsk and targeting patterns that increasingly aligned with the Belarusian government’s priorities after the 2020 political crisis.[Google Cloud]cloud.google.comunc1151 linked to belarus governmentunc1151 linked to belarus government
Ghostwriter’s persuasive power came from borrowed credibility. A fabricated article appearing on a genuine, compromised website looks more convincing than the same claim posted by an anonymous account. Readers may recognise the publication’s address, design and archive without realising that an attacker has inserted a single false story.
Campaign narratives have included invented military incidents, alleged misconduct by NATO personnel, supposed threats from neighbouring countries and claims designed to inflame disputes over migration. Researchers also observed stolen accounts being used to amplify stories and give the impression that public officials or established institutions endorsed them.[Recorded Future]recordedfuture.comghostwriter in the shellghostwriter in the shell
Attribution remains more complicated than identifying whether an individual article is false. European governments and private researchers have at different times emphasised Belarusian or Russian connections, and close security cooperation between the two states makes a perfectly clean division difficult. Mandiant’s conclusion was not that Russian involvement was impossible, but that the technical and operational evidence supported a direct Belarusian link that earlier accounts had overlooked.[WIRED]wired.comOpen source on wired.com.
This uncertainty is itself useful to influence operators. A successful operation can create disagreement not only about the fabricated story, but also about who planted it. By the time attribution is debated, the original accusation may already have reached its intended audience.
How Belarusian propaganda turns fragments into stories
The most effective false narratives about Belarus and its neighbours are seldom invented from nothing. They typically begin with a real image, genuine anxiety or identifiable political dispute, then change the context.
A video of a huge 2020 protest in Minsk, for example, was recirculated in 2024 as supposed footage of a nationalist rally in London. Reuters verified the original location by matching buildings and street geography and traced earlier publication of the clip to coverage of Belarusian demonstrations. The picture was authentic; the date, place and meaning attached to it were false.[Reuters]reuters.comOpen source on reuters.com.
Belarusian state-aligned narratives about neighbouring European countries use similar techniques. Fact-checkers have documented stories claiming social collapse, professional humiliation for Belarusian emigrants, failing universities or manufactured atrocities at the Polish border. These messages exploit recognisable concerns—migration, sanctions, living costs and cultural displacement—while supplying unsupported causes, invented incidents or selective evidence.[EDMO]edmo.euwhat lies about europe is belarus propaganda feeding to its citizenswhat lies about europe is belarus propaganda feeding to its citizens
Such stories benefit several audiences at once. Domestically, they can portray life outside Belarus as dangerous or degrading and suggest that political alternatives lead to instability. Internationally, they can deepen mistrust between migrants and host communities or weaken confidence in NATO and the European Union. Politically, they redirect attention from state repression by making neighbouring governments appear equally abusive or more threatening.
What these cases reveal
Belarus’s best-substantiated history of hoaxes is therefore less a cabinet of amusing curiosities than a study in manufactured authority. The recurring mechanism is not simply the creation of false evidence, but the use of official systems and familiar media forms to determine how evidence will be interpreted.
Several patterns connect the major cases:
- Denial can function as deception. In the teddy-bear affair, genuine footage was labelled a hoax until accumulating evidence and official consequences made that position untenable.
- A falsehood can be embedded in a trusted procedure. The FR4978 bomb warning exploited aviation safety rules that require pilots to respond before the claim can be fully investigated.
- Real images can conceal false conditions. Confession videos show genuine detainees while withholding the pressure under which they spoke.
- A trusted platform can be counterfeited from within. Ghostwriter placed fabricated material on compromised websites and accounts rather than relying solely on obviously partisan channels.
- Correction does not erase the first impression. A dramatic accusation, confession or frightening warning may remain memorable after investigators reconstruct what happened.
These episodes also warn against treating “Belarusian hoaxes” as evidence of national credulity. Ordinary Belarusians have often been the targets of these deceptions, the witnesses who contradicted them or the journalists and investigators who preserved competing evidence. The decisive factor has been the imbalance between institutions able to broadcast an official version and individuals forced to prove that version false.
The most reliable way to assess such claims is to examine provenance rather than spectacle: who first released the material, whether the full recording exists, what happened before filming began, whether independent investigators obtained original communications, and whether the source later changed its story. In Belarus’s most famous cases, the eventual exposure came not from a single dramatic revelation but from raw footage, technical logs, witness testimony, cross-border investigation and contradictions that official narratives could no longer contain.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: reuters.com
Title: Belarus sacks top brass over teddy bear scandal
Link:https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-belarus-bears/belarus-sacks-top-brass-over-teddy-bear-scandal-idUKBRE86U17320120731/
Source snippet
Belarus sacks top brass over teddy bear scandalJuly 31, 2012 — 31 Jul 2012 — Authorities in Minsk initially denied that the air dr...
Published: July 31, 2012
2.
Source: reuters.com
Title: Belarus fines two for toy bear photos after airdrop
Link:https://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyle/belarus-fines-two-for-toy-bear-photos-after-airdrop-idUSBRE86U190/
Source snippet
Belarus fines two for toy bear photos after airdropAugust 9, 2012 — 9 Aug 2012 — Authorities in Belarus arrested and fined two jou...
Published: August 9, 2012
3.
Source: icao.int
Title: Council President presents briefing to UN Security
Link:https://www.icao.int/sites/default/files/about-icao/MrSciacchitano/Documents/Rayanair4978_EN.pdf
Source snippet
false pretext of a bomb threat, as presented in the final report of the fact-finding investigation team that the Council considered on 18...
4.
Source: icao.int
Link:https://www.icao.int/sites/default/files/Security/documents/Ryanair-FR4978-FFIT-report.pdf
Source snippet
event involving ryanair flight fr4978 in belarus airspace on...July 18, 2022 — several occasions, to obtain a copy of the bomb threa...
Published: July 18, 2022
5.
Source: odihr.osce.org
Link:https://odihr.osce.org/odihr/469539
6.
Source: omct.org
Link:https://www.omct.org/site-resources/files/Belarus-Public-Broadcasting-of-Forced-Confessions.pdf
7.
Source: cloud.google.com
Title: unc1151 linked to belarus government
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8.
Source: wired.com
Link:https://www.wired.com/story/ghostwriter-hackers-belarus-russia-misinformationo
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10.
Source: edmo.eu
Title: what lies about europe is belarus propaganda feeding to its citizens
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11.
Source: edmo.eu
Title: life in the eu is a nightmare according to belarus disinformation
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12.
Source: reuters.com
Title: belarus withheld information ryanair diversion probe un says 2022 01 19
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Source: icao.int
Title: wp 052 en
Link:https://www.icao.int/sites/default/files/Meetings/a42/Documents/WP/wp_052_en.pdf
17.
Source: icao.int
Title: wp 429 en
Link:https://www.icao.int/sites/default/files/Meetings/a41/Documents/WP/wp_429_en.pdf
18.
Source: cdn.osce.org
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20.
Source: rferl.org
Title: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’Teddybear Airdrop’ Takes Aim At Belarus Denials
Link:https://www.rferl.org/a/facing-denials-sweden-group-releases-full-video-teddy-bear-airdrop-belarus/24644267.html
Source snippet
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty'Teddybear Airdrop' Takes Aim At Belarus DenialsJuly 13, 2012 — 13 Jul 2012 — A Swedish public-relations firm...
Published: July 13, 2012
21.
Source: transport.ec.europa.eu
Link:https://transport.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/belarus-statement-high-representative-josep-borrell-and-commissioner-adina-valean-forced-landing-2022-07-22_en
22.
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23.
Source: washingtonpost.com
Title: The Washington Post Belarus dissident’s ‘confession’ video suggests coercion
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24.
Source: recordedfuture.com
Title: ghostwriter in the shell
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25.
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28.
Source: historia.europa.eu
Title: Fake For Real at National Ethnographic Museum, Sofia, Bulgaria
Link:https://historia.europa.eu/system/files/2024-07/Fake%20For%20Real%20at%20National%20Ethnographic%20Museum%2C%20Sofia%2C%20Bulgaria.pdf
29.
Source: recordedfuture.com
Title: ghostwriter in the shell
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30.
Source: rferl.org
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Additional References
32.
Source: unitingaviation.com
Link:https://unitingaviation.com/news/safety/the-icao-council-condemns-belarus-over-2021-ryanair-flight-bomb-threat-and-diversion/
Source snippet
Uniting AviationThe ICAO Council condemns Belarus over 2021 Ryanair...19 Jul 2022 — The ICAO Council concluded its discussions yesterday...
33.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbFo9_JeizQ
Source snippet
Outrage as Ryanair plane “hijacked” by Belarus to arrest dissident journalist - BBC News...
34.
Source: aljazeera.com
Title: belarus confirms teddy bear air drop
Link:https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2012/7/27/belarus-confirms-teddy-bear-air-drop
Source snippet
Al JazeeraBelarus confirms teddy bear air drop | Features27 Jul 2012 — Belarus has finally confirmed that an airplane “invaded” its terri...
35.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Belarus journalist Roman Protasevich ‘forced into tearful confession’
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZeXExOXrdI
Source snippet
Belarus airs detained journalist's "confession" video, opposition says interview was under duress...
36.
Source: youtube.com
Title: Belarus-Sweden ties plummet after teddy bear drop
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_wgzdR9uuo
Source snippet
Belarus journalist Roman Protasevich 'forced into tearful confession' - BBC News...
37.
Source: youtube.com
Title: The Political Activist Who’s Been to Jail 19 Times | Dictatorland
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRWPuqifLSc
Source snippet
Belarus-Sweden ties plummet after teddy bear drop...
38.
Source: researchgate.net
Link:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/386738649Online_dissemination_of_fake_news-_reflections_and_theoretical_perspectives_on_the_practices_and_limits_of_prevention
39.
Source: investigatebel.org
Link:https://investigatebel.org/en/fakenews
40.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/john.kotarski.7/posts/banksy-smuggled-this-into-the-british-museum-complete-with-its-faked-catalogue-t/10228789229289596/
41.
Source: reddit.com
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/comments/196n51n/belarus_is_trying_to_establish_its_national/
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