This is the work of Simon Zagurskas, who has been convicted multiple times for defamation and signs under the pseudonym “Kroydonas.” More famous people in the country have also suffered from him.
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A video appeared late Thursday evening on S. Zagurskas’s social media account “Facebook,” showing journalist Rasa Tapinienė.
In it, the woman says she was infected with HIV. The caption under the video claims that R. Tapinienė “admitted that her husband Andrius Tapinas infected her with HIV.”
The caption is false, and the video was stolen from a 2018 social campaign during which famous people in the country “lent” their voices to those suffering from this disease and told not their own but their stories with their own lips.
Journalist R. Tapinienė was not talking about herself or her experience – she conveyed the story of a real person infected with HIV.
“Lending my voice” is an educational social initiative aimed at reducing the stigma associated with HIV and the social isolation of those affected, as well as encouraging them to seek help.
The false story also tried to defame A. Tapinas’s daughter, but her name was given incorrectly. R. Tapinienė and A. Tapinas’s daughter is named Vasara, not Laura, as stated in the post.
Legal boundary
Andrius Tapinas, a public figure, also sought to hold S. Zagurskas accountable for defamation. In March last year, a false story appeared on social media claiming that he was allegedly involved in a Ukrainian child abduction network.
It was claimed that children’s organs were transplanted to wealthy people, and the children themselves were drowned in the Čepkeliai mire. 15min fact-checkers debunked this lie.
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At that time, A. Tapinas said he had contacted the police regarding legal responsibility for defamation, and a pre-trial investigation was initiated.
“He was also upset that his relatives were being dragged through law enforcement as they tried to determine his whereabouts.
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However, as I understand it, that pre-trial investigation has little prospect because he became a citizen of the United Kingdom, and now it is no longer within Lithuania’s jurisdiction to resolve defamation charges.
Algis Ramanauskas also suffered from him and tried to turn to law enforcement but hit the same obstacle.
As I understand it, if we tried to resolve this issue in his country of citizenship, it would be a private case, so the lawyer fees would be astronomical.
I find it strange that such a practice exists – a state border appears, and you can do nothing. I don’t know, maybe this happened after Brexit,” A. Tapinas pondered.
Fined but refuses to pay
In 2021, the Kaunas court fined S. Zagurskas 7,238 euros for defamatory posts on Facebook.
During the trial, S. Zagurskas did not plead guilty and refused to testify at the hearing, only agreeing to answer the victim’s questions.
He stated that he did not pay and would not pay the fines imposed by the courts.
“The defendant, by writing online articles about the victim and posting them on social media, knew that he was spreading defamatory information about the person, which he could not substantiate in any way.
Moreover, S. Zagurskas undoubtedly understood that the text about the victim was offensive and insulted and humiliated him as a person because the information in the article did not correspond to reality,” the court decided.
S. Zagurskas had earlier been convicted of defaming journalist Vidas Mačiulis and supporting international crimes.
15min verdict: falsehood. The story that R. Tapinienė was allegedly infected with HIV by A. Tapinas is false. It was constructed using social advertising, taking the post out of context, and presenting a false caption.
Publication prepared by 15min in cooperation with “Meta”, aiming to stop the spread of misleading news on social media. More about the program and its rules – here.
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