Disinfo: COVID-19 brings attention to US secret laboratories on the borders of Russia and China

Summary

If some time ago Beijing’s claims that US troops may have brought COVID-19 to China were seen as conspiracy theories, today most politicians all over the world started talking about their legitimacy. The US is known for its alarming activity in sponsoring laboratories of biological weapons, mostly in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Georgia. In this (latter) country, we found one of the most prominent, the Lugar Lab, which is studying dangerous infectious diseases but hides the true reasons of its investigations, which can point to an eventual development of biological weapons. Available data suggests that the main targets of the US bacteriological threat are Russia and continental China. A Russian diplomatic source told journalists that it would be good if instead of playing propagandistic games around coronavirus, the US would clarify the purpose of its laboratories located near Russia and China.

Disproof

Recurrent Kremlin-led conspiracy theory not supported by any evidence. The mention to the Lugar Lab is significant, since this facility is a frequent target of Russian disinformation. The Richard Lugar Center for Public Health Research is a facility of the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC), which became operational in August 2013. The Lugar centre is a top-tiered institution in NCDC’s laboratory network and serves as a reference laboratory for Georgia’s public health system. Read more about Lugar lab on Myth Detector. This narrative aims to divert attention from the Russian-promoted disinformation campaign on coronavirus, well documented by both media and governments. Elements of this campaign were widely reported by Russian and international publications, and by the European External Action Service. See other examples in our database, such as claims that Bill Gates and George Soros are sponsoring the Wuhan coronavirus, that it is a UK, US or NATO creation and Americans have its cure, that it is an artificial disease which specifically targets Chinese DNA, or that it is a pretext to gain control of the world’s population,

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  • Reported in: Issue 191
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 31/03/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Spanish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Armenia, Georgia, US, Russia
  • Keywords: coronavirus, Lugar Laboratory, laboratory, Biological weapons, Conspiracy theory
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