Who are these people massively praising Lukashenka in comments? This week, they flooded Threads
In Russia, researchers find entire "bot farms" — networks of fake or stolen accounts that write what the authorities need. However, in Belarus, it is often difficult to understand who is behind pro-government comments. "Zerkalo" noticed that this week, Lukashenka's supporters began actively expressing themselves in Threads. Journalists examined their accounts to find out who belongs to this "community."
What do "pro-government" commentators write?
On April 28, a prisoner exchange in a "five-for-five" format took place on the Belarusian-Polish border. Belarus handed over political prisoner Andrei Pachobut, two Polish citizens, and two Moldovan citizens to Poland. Two "Belarusian intelligence officers," two Russian citizens, and one other person whose identity is unknown left Poland.
After this news, many similar comments appeared in Threads, praising Lukashenka in various ways and mentioning humanism.
A feature of Threads is that the platform allows you to see all comments of a specific user. It turned out that some participants in the discussion were so impressed by the exchange with Poland that they decided to express themselves in many places at once.
For example, a user from Belarus under the nickname qwerty_tatty registered in April 2026. He made no publications and did not subscribe to anyone. But after the news about the prisoner exchange, he commented on it ten times in various discussions. His remarks are not repeated verbatim but are generally similar to each other.
Comments by user qwerty_tatty in Threads
A user from Belarus under the nickname ta_tya_na1975 registered back in 2024. She did not publish anything herself, nor did she reply to anyone. But when the exchange with Poland happened, she commented in four Threads "branches" at once.
Comments by user ta_tya_na1975 in Threads
Who is behind the accounts praising Lukashenka?
However, if you think that all praises for Lukashenka were left by bots — that is, automated dummy accounts — that is far from the case. There were anonymous accounts, but there were also personal profiles with surnames and photos. It turned out that under the news about the exchange, there was a mass correspondence of administrators and public sector employees — mainly from the Mogilev region.
"Belarus is always for constructive dialogue," wrote Tatsiana Yeliseenka. She works at the Horki Pedagogical College as deputy director for educational work.
Under the same post, we counted at least two heads of ideological work and youth affairs departments: Aksana Daragonka from Shklou District Executive Committee praised the "farewell father," and Alena Kuleshova from Bykhov Executive Committee evaluated his political wisdom. Staff ideologists also left comments — Irina Kozel from Mozyr and Alena Slesarenka from Karma.
Who do you think criticized the "frenzied" who were released? It was Hanna Shynkarova, the chief editor of the Krychaw district newspaper. Natalia Kozik, the chief editor of the district newspaper "Chyrvony Stsyah. Krasnopolle" expressed a similar opinion.
Comment by Hanna Shynkarova and a screenshot from the website of the district newspaper "Krychawski Zhytstsyo". Collage: "Zerkalo"
Other public sector employees were also found in the comments — employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and "Zhylkamhas" from Kirawsk, as well as the deputy general director of an enterprise from Krychaw.
What else did this "squad of public sector employees" comment on?
Pro-government commentators actively participated in other discussions as well. For example, they actively praised the maternity hospital and school visited by Lukashenka.
They also left several dozen comments under a publication with the Ministry of Health's position regarding the situation of Ksenia Maiseenka, for whom Belarusians collected 1.8 million dollars for a "Zolgensma" injection, and the Ministry of Health announced that there was "no need whatsoever" to take the child abroad for treatment. Although the situation itself caused sharp discussions, there was complete consensus in this discussion.
Comments in Threads under a post with the Ministry of Health's position regarding Ksenia Maiseenka's situation
They also amicably came to the viral post about "voluntary-compulsory" newspaper subscriptions. Alena from the Karma Executive Committee shared that she generally loves newspapers, and one hundred rubles once every six months is not much. Irina from the Mozyr Executive Committee shared that her grandparents continue to read newspapers. Anonymous user Uladzimir indicated that newspapers are needed to "simply understand where the truth is."
Accounts from the same "community" also commented on the discussion of the drone, whose flight was heard by residents of Gomel. Users sent a link to the official position of the Ministry of Defense, mentioned exercises, and even the sowing campaign.
"This is your patriotic talent"
It is interesting that just a few days ago — on April 25 — First Deputy Head of Lukashenka's Administration Uladzimir Piartsou, at an extraordinary congress of the "Belaya Rus" party in Minsk, urged "party youth" to comment more actively on social networks.
According to Piartsou, the main counteraction to interference in the country's domestic political agenda "is realized in the information environment."
"And I would like to recommend all of you to actively participate in public discussions, engage in polemics in comments to posts where our ill-wishers stir up social, communal, or other problems. This is your patriotic talent, your civic, journalistic position. Do not hesitate to show your regional leaders, active party members more in the media, in social networks — you have them," the official said.