Disinfo: Allegations of Russian role in Vrbetice explosion are part of informational preparation for new Cold war

Summary

The expulsion of Russian diplomats from the US, the UK, Poland, and the Czech Republic, the accusation of Russian secret service of involving in the Vrbětice explosion: all of this is the informational preparation for the next level of the new Cold war.

Washington and its allies are ready to expel diplomats for any fictional reason and without explanation to society.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative which automatically dismisses any accusations against the Kremlin, no matter how well-founded, as trumped-up anti-Russian smears.

The explosion in Vrbětice happened in 2014. In April 2021, new information about this event has come to light. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and Interior Minister Jan Hamacek announced on Saturday 17 April 2021 that the Czech intelligence services collected evidence demonstrating Russian involvement in the Vrbětice incident. More specifically, it implicates Unit 29155, a division of Russia's GRU agency previously linked to "assassination attempts and other subversive actions across Europe." Prague's findings were independently corroborated in the course of an investigation jointly conducted by Bellingcat, The Insider (Russia), Der Spiegel (Germany), and Respekt.cz (Czech Republic).

See the development of a similar narrative: Czech allegations against Russia aim to overshadow failed attempt on Lukashenka’s life; No evidence of Moscow’s involvement in 2014 Vrbetice explosion; Allegations of Russian role in Vrbetice explosion part of Russophobic smear campaign.

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baltnews.lt (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 241
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 24/04/2021
  • Article language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia, US, UK, Poland, Czech Republic
  • Keywords: GRU, Russophobia, Anti-Russian, Diplomacy with Russia, Secret services, New Cold War, Vrbetice explosion
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Disinfo: Pfizer may be silently discrediting its rivals while hiding its own failures

Is Pfizer silently discrediting other vaccines while it hides its own failures? The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine arrived on the market in 2020 promoted as an extremely safe product. However, recent data on the vaccination campaign from all over the world may challenge Pfizer’s claims about secondary effects and deaths. From the first day, the Pfizer vaccine was highly praised by the main US, British and European media, who coincidentally didn’t hide their apparent bias against other vaccine producers. But after an optimistic launch, some doubts emerged about its safety, especially after the number of deaths - some of which may have been caused by the Pfizer vaccine - overcame similar data from other vaccines. Official statistics from 13 countries show 2,476 deaths among people who received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which represents an average of 39.4 deaths for every million of injected doses. This is between three and five times more than deaths registered among those who received the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Apr 23, 2021
Disproof

The claim that Pfizer may be silently discrediting other vaccines while hiding its own failures is a conspiracy theory not backed by any evidence. Affirmations about deaths caused by the Pfizer vaccine are based on flawed data, such as the use of the number of total deaths instead of vaccine-associated ones to calculate the rate of deaths for every million of injected doses (see here a detailed analysis and debunk by professor Carl T. Bergstrom). The claim about Western media bias against other vaccine producers, such as the Russian Sputnik V, is also a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative.

This disinformation message appeared amid a wave of false claims made by the developers of the Sputnik V vaccine aiming to discredit competitors, part of a long-term pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign about global vaccination.

Disinfo: Swedish Church has declared Greta Thunberg the successor of Christ

Some high-level clergy of the Church of Sweden has declared Greta Thunberg a prophet and a successor of Christ. In late 2019, Arch-Bishop Antje Jackalén declared that she considered Greta Thunberg a female prophet and able to foretell the future, just as the prophets of the Old Testament.

Apr 23, 2021
Disproof

A false statement. The Church of Sweden issued a formal statement in October 2019:

No, Church of Sweden has not proclaimed Greta Thunberg as one of Jesus Christ's successors.

See related disinformation claims, alleging that Ursula von der Leyen adopts laws under Greta Thunberg’s dictatorship; The ruling elite and Greta Thunberg wants to reduce world population; Greta Thunberg is part of a scheme to enrich a handful of financial giants.

Disinfo: The West is decadent, corrupt, rotten, and has reached its final phase

The West is decadent, corrupt, rotten, and has reached its final phase. Corrupt and decadent individualism is a characteristic of the West and has poisoned Slavic societies, but such individualism is not part of the Slavic world.

Apr 23, 2021
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the decadence of the West, which is allegedly collapsing. This narrative describes the liberal West as a materialistic, immoral, corrupt and perverted society that subverts traditional values

The broad theme about a decadent, corrupt and dying West, frequently spread by pro-Kremlin outlets, often aims at consolidating the image of Russia as a morally superior alternative to Western decadence.