"Fellas" from NAFO Gathered Ahead of NATO Summit in Vilnius
In Vilnius on Saturday, the "NAFO summit" (North Atlantic Fella Organization) took place—a casual event of a virtual community that has been countering Russian disinformation and propaganda since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
This was reported on the community's Facebook page.
At the opening of the "NATO summit," Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis emphasized that "NAFO is about laughter, but you are not just a joke."
Proud to open the NAFO Summit, a based gathering of fellas to raise money for Ukraine ❤️🇺🇦 This is the way! pic.twitter.com/T0gIkfdWPI
— Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 (@GLandsbergis) July 8, 2023
"Your community is an example of how creative individuals with potential can unite and express themselves in a democratic society, which is the strength of our system. And I do not consider it a coincidence that the side with the best memes will prevail," underscored Landsbergis.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas also addressed the participants of the "NAFO summit" in a special message, expressing regret for not being able to be physically present in Vilnius and wishing for the most comprehensive event possible.
"You are an example of how Russian disinformation and 'bad attempts' can be countered with a good sense of humor, intelligence, and enthusiasm," noted Kallas, thanking NAFO for supporting Ukraine, Estonia, and the entire Baltic region.
Greetings to #NAFOfellas at the first-ever #NAFOSummit in Vilnius.#NAFO is a living example of how to disarm Russian disinformation with humour, intelligence and enthusiasm. Behind every Fella is a real person who believes in #Ukraine’s victory.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) July 8, 2023
Thank you for your service. pic.twitter.com/VWOkAe3udr
During the "NAFO summit," participants discussed the history and development of the community, the peculiarities of Russian military propaganda, the fight against it, and also raised funds to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The event's stage was decorated using Shiba Inu dogs—a breed that has become the unofficial "face" of NAFO—as well as a toy shark, possibly alluding to the incident where a shark killed a Russian, resulting in numerous memes created by NAFO activists.
NAFO Summit in Vilnius. Source: Facebook / NAFO
NAFO is a virtual community that emerged after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, aiming to assist the Armed Forces and counter Russian disinformation. NAFO participants, known as "fellas," predominantly share memes, troll official Russian speakers, and engage with pro-Russian accounts on social media.
NAFO is not a centralized structure but rather a community of like-minded individuals. The community collects donations for Ukrainian soldiers. In April 2023, they raised $172,769 for drones for the Main Intelligence Directorate, as reported by the UNITED24 platform.
Shiba Inu dogs, a Japanese breed that has appeared in various internet memes since at least 2010, have become symbols of NAFO. It all started when Polish citizen Kamil Dziewiecki began adding Shiba Inu images to photos from Ukraine in May 2022. One of the main images was a military Shiba Inu in Ukrainian camouflage.
Later, Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, who changed his Twitter avatar to a Shiba Inu holding a HIMARS launcher in August 2022, thanked NAFO participants for their fundraising efforts for Ukrainian soldiers and "for everything they do to help Ukraine win."
Dear #fellas , it’s an honor for me to be a proud member of #NAFO . Just want to take this opportunity to once again thank you for what you are doing: donating to support our troops, fighting misinformation and propaganda, and of course, bonking those russian trolls.
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) July 1, 2023
We will… pic.twitter.com/3Cux0qhoyu
"And remember, the expansion of NAFO, as well as the expansion of NATO, is not up for discussion," emphasized the Ukrainian Minister of Defense.
At the "summit," an image of Reznikov in the guise of a Shiba Inu was sold for 1000 euros, with the funds intended for the needs of Ukrainian soldiers.