Lithuania Refuses to Participate in Disinformation Conference as It Criticizes the U.S.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to participate in the Disinfo 2026 conference, officially distanced itself from its content, and requested the organizers not to use any references to the ministry in the conference materials when it became clear that some parts of the program did not align with the positions of the government and the national interests of Lithuania," BNS was informed by the ministry. Politico reported on Thursday that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump pressured diplomats from Lithuania, the European Union (EU), and Canada to leave the conference due to discussions warning of threats posed by U.S. officials and the influence of the country. "The conference is organized by an independent non-governmental organization. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not participate in the preparation of the conference program, and the content of the conference was not coordinated with the ministry," the agency noted. The Guardian reports that the conference program was approved in June, several months before some participants withdrew from the event. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys told LRT radio that the conference organizers "overstepped due to great zeal and committed a significant absurdity." According to the minister, he is "surprised and shocked" that security threats such as Russia and China are compared to the United States. "This does not align with our assessment and principles, which is why we decided to withdraw from the event, and in the future, we will seek ways to prevent the topic of combating disinformation from turning into an anti-American theme that weakens our ties with allies," Budrys told the radio station. The Disinfo 2026 conference is taking place in Vilnius on Wednesday and Thursday. A session was scheduled at the event where the U.S. is characterized as a subject of "foreign information manipulation and interference" (FIMI). This, according to Politico, caused discontent within the Trump administration. BNS reported that this discussion included two American researchers and a former CIA employee, and it examined how the U.S. became a source of disinformation threats to Europe. In another session titled "Under Attack: How the Disinformation Community is Coping with Pressure from the U.S. Government," lawyers were asked to assess the threat of U.S. government travel bans for European figures. According to Politico, the U.S. State Department asked American embassies in several European countries and the EU to express concern on behalf of Washington and assess whether the governments of the conference participant countries agree with classifying the U.S. as subjects of FIMI. After negotiations with U.S. officials, Canada and Lithuania withdrew their support for the conference, exiting discussions and removing mentions of themselves from the event materials. The EU diplomatic service was also excluded from the official program. Reuters confirmed that attempts to persuade Lithuania and Canada to leave the conference were made by three American officials familiar with the situation. Two of them indicated that U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania Kara McDonald was involved in these calls. The foreign ministries of Lithuania, Canada, and the EU diplomatic service were among the main sponsors of the event. After their departure, the only main sponsor remaining was the government of France. The annual Disinfo conference is organized by the Brussels-based non-governmental organization EU DisinfoLab.