Finnish police investigate fake drone attack instructions circulated under emergency services name

Police in southeastern Finland are investigating a forged safety guide falsely attributed to the country’s emergency services, reports national broadcaster Yle. The fake instructions, which claim to advise on protecting against drone strikes, emerged after three drones crashed in the region in late March.

The document includes the emergency services logo and provides guidance on sheltering indoors and outdoors, as well as steps to take after an attack. Authorities have filed a criminal report for usurpation of official authority, though no suspect has been identified.

Unverified social media posts suggested the instructions were distributed in mailboxes across southeastern Finland, but police have found no evidence to support these claims. Investigators are examining whether the case constitutes a crime.

According to Yle’s investigation, the forged instructions first appeared in a video shared in Russian-language social media groups, where a voiceover falsely claimed Ukrainian drones threatened Finland. The video, posted on platforms like VKontakte, showed a Finnish-language “instruction sheet” later identified as fake.

Jukka Savolainen, network director at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, told Yle the forgery may originate from Russia, aligning with its disinformation tactics. However, he suggested it likely stemmed from lower-level operatives rather than a coordinated state campaign.

A notable inconsistency in the video was the emergency services logo, which differed from the version later circulated in Finnish social media groups.