A new lie: announcing a radioactive cloud covering part of Poland

Lies began to spread and the page that previously spread the disinformation bukimevieningi.lt

It appeared on Tuesday evening with a message based on no facts about the increased radiation background.

“Radiation spikes were detected in eastern Poland. In Lublin, measuring devices recorded a sudden increase in bismuth levels by 6-7 times“– published in a false message.

However, this is not true. The radiation background on the continent remains unchanged.

A wave of disinformation has worried residents

“We are aware of that misinformation, several residents have already applied for it. However, everything that is written in the publication is not true.

There was no release of radioactive materials into the environment and the radiation background has not changed.

There are absolutely no threats related to an increase in radiation in the environment,” – 15 minutes commented Paulius Ruželė, head of the accident management and training department of the Radiation Protection Center.

The expert added that the same lie was refuted by the Ukrainian institutions, so Lithuanian residents should not worry.

When asked whether the unreasonably frightened residents could harm their health if they consumed the available potassium iodide tablets, the specialist answered in the negative.

“It will definitely not harm your health. However, there is no reason to use them now, because potassium iodide tablets are used only in cases where radioactive iodine spreads in the environment, which only happens during accidents at nuclear power plants,” the specialist assured.

The expert added that even if an accident were to occur at one of the nuclear power plants currently in Ukraine, they are too far away to resort to potassium iodide tablets.

According to him, the only case in which the residents would really need to use the tablets they received earlier would be an accident at the Astrava power plant, but so far no information has been received that this could happen.

The specialist emphasized that the Soviet times have passed and the population would be informed in the face of the shadow of disaster.

“We would make recommendations on how to proceed in such a case. We are open. Stations operating in Lithuania that measure the level of ionizing radiation are openly accessible to the public. Every resident of Lithuania can see that”, explained Mr. Ruželė.

Disinformation also spreads in Ukraine

The official Telegram channel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as well denied similar lie.

“Enemy Telegram channels have launched a disinformation campaign, reporting an alleged “significant increase in radiation levels in the Khmelnytskyi region” after the Russian military shelled key infrastructure in the region.

We warn you that the information about the increased level of radiation in the Khmelnytskyi region does not correspond to reality, this is emphasized by the state administration of the Khmelnytskyi region, which has carried out the relevant measurements of the radiation background,” Ukrainians announce.

The publication was prepared in 15 minutes in partnership with Metawhich aims to stop the spread of misleading news on the social network. More about the program and its rules – here.