Estonia's Tallinn University has become the target of a fake news story on the Russian media, alleging that it teaches students “practical aspects” of gay sex.

A crew from the Petersburg – Channel 5 network, which the Estonian Internal Security Service has flagged as a Kremlin propaganda channel, have produced a story about Tallinn University's course on LGBT+ history in order to portray Estonia as enthralled to Europe's “eroded morals” and Tallinn as the gay capital of Scandinavia, according to ERR News and BNS which quote the daily Postimees.

The Russian story claimed that the course was “more than theoretical”, insinuating that students were shown gay pornography and discussed child abuse in a frivolous way.

The LGBT+ history project initiator and course leader Uku Lember told Postimees that there was nothing of the sort and the practical tasks on the course included interviewing older men.

He said the journalist from the Russian network presented themselves as LGBT+ activists and were polite, and that his students were “a little shaken” when they saw the fake news story.