Propastop is run by members of the volunteer Defense League, and has recently focused on accounts promoting a meme-driven narrative about a fictional "Narva people's republic," seen in the narrative as an autonomous or pro-Russian entity.

However, the coverage, when included with that from the media more broadly, and also the prime minister, has amplified the tiny number of accounts to tens of thousands online, Kiisler goes on.

Strange accounts have appeared on multiple social media platforms, with follower counts ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred. Via these wholly marginal accounts, so-called "Narva Republic" memes began circulating. For example, memes carried by the Telegram platform, popular among Russian-speaking users, had originally had only a handful of followers.

The memes and other content consist of some dull text and images haphazardly pasted together and executed in an exceptionally poor manner. The posts, created in a childish tone, can leave no impression that this is a serious undertaking.

Millions of similar absurdities circulate online, and are not worth paying attention to. And most of us indeed don't pay attention; these so-called republic scribblings should have gone largely unnoticed. But they didn't, as Propastop gave them a vigorous push.

These analysts, in exposing hostile propaganda wrote: "Based on publicly available information, it is currently not possible to determine who is behind these accounts or what the organizational background of the project may be. At the same time, the posts and visuals create a narrative in which the "Narva People's Republic" is portrayed as a separate political entity."

"The spread of similar ideas in Estonia's information environment effectively means the normalization of narratives about the separation of Estonian territory and separatism."

Consequently, we cannot know whether this is all the work of local pranksters, teens living outside Estonia, a Russian "troll factory," or someone else.

Following the Propastop post, this little nugget was picked up by Delfi (link in Estonian), the media outlet with the largest reader base in Estonia. Now, tens of thousands of people have become aware of the Narva Republic idea. On top of that, the threat which we were supposedly exposed to was even addressed personally by Prime Minister Kristen Michal, at Thursday's government press conference. The prime minister stated that the information presented in the memes was false, adding that the media must keep its eyes peeled. One has to empathize with the prime minister: The Reform Party has always positioned itself as a defender of Estonia's security, while it is easier to boost its poor ratings by bringing the Russian threat onto the agenda.

In Narva itself, people are now laughing sardonically, given how Tallinn seems to have embarked on a psychological warfare counterattack, tilting at information windmills that had been idling. By Thursday evening, the Telegram channel hosting images threatening Estonia's territorial integrity already had risen to nearly three hundred followers.

Naturally there is an ongoing information war in the world, and in Russia, day-to-day "special operations" against Estonia and the rest of the Western world are surely being plotted — of that there is no doubt. And you hardly need to be a clairvoyant to be able to envisage such activity continuing to rise. All the more reason for some basic professionalism in differentiating between nonsense and genuinely dangerous material. This time, however, it was a blunder through which noise, via the media and the prime minister, reached tens of thousands of people.

We all stumble; certainly, our psychological warfare front-line fighters did not intend to popularize this nebulous material. But what genuinely concerns me is Propastop's occasional desire to essentially conduct societal opinion control, even labeling some of our fellow citizens as dangerous.

An example: Russian-language former journalist Sergei Ovtshenkov recently attracted attention. He runs a Center Party discussion room on YouTube, in which Russian-speaking politicians only, from the Center Party only, such as Mihhail Kõlvart, sit on the couch and toss around some conversation threads.

Propastop penned this about Ovtshenkov: "Although the host himself avoids public pro-Russian rhetoric, the platform willingly gives a voice to those who promote it." This kind of "analysis" was also presented in the media later, after Ovtshenkov had ultimately received a paid position in the Põhja Tallinn district government, for his efforts in promoting the Center Party. The only newsworthy aspect of the story was the revival of the Center Party's network, yet to serve itself better, Propastop utilized some hollow claims.

On these hollow claims, well, sorry, but should all media outlets avoid Center Party chair Mihhail Kõlvart as if he had the plague? Are Russian-speaking people not allowed to air their concerns and suspicions without fearing that a disparaging analysis originating from Propastop will reach hundreds of thousands through media amplification? Do we want a Russia-like society, where strategic communication directors dictate, together with state leaders, how we as citizens must think and act?

It is the case that tens of thousands of people in Estonia would like the country to leave NATO; presumably, thousands admire the violent Vladimir Putin, while others support the powerful Donald Trump. But the essence of democracy is that people are not repressed for having their beliefs.

Psychological defense does not work if one goes and shoots oneself in the foot; both powder and ammunition should be reserved for the real enemy.

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