Disinfo: Coronavirus could be an American biological attack

Summary

Coronavirus may be caused by an American biological attack that targeted China first, then Iran, then the rest of the world.

Disproof

Conspiracy theories about the 2019-nCoV coronavirus.

There is no evidence that suggests that the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is used as a weapon against other states.

It comes from a family of viruses that include other viruses such as SARS and MERS. It was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in central China and has been rapidly spreading with new cases being reported in the Asia-Pacific region as well as Europe, North America and the Middle East, causing 3282 deaths up until 9 March 2020.

You can see other examples in our database, such as claims that Bill Gates and George Soros are sponsoring it, that it is a UK, US or NATO creation and that the Americans have its cure, that it is an artificial disease which specifically targets Chinese DNA, that it was created with economic goals while big pharma companies are spreading panic for their own profit, that it is a biological weapon against Russia and China, that it will wipe out Ukraine’s population in a few days or that it was predicted by Nostradamus and others.

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  • Reported in: Issue 188
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 05/03/2020
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: China, Iran, US
  • Keywords: coronavirus, Virus / bacteria threat, Biological weapons, Conspiracy theory
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Disinfo: Lithuanian Foreign Ministry tries to rewrite the history of World War II

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry suggests that the Parliament should condemn attempts to rewrite history. The unpleasant part of this initiative is that Russia appears in its wording, while Russia actually did not rewrite any history. On the contrary, it carefully defends the historical truth, which some politicians, in particular, the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, are trying to reconsider and even to legally prohibit.

Mar 04, 2020
Disproof

This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism – it accuses the Baltic states, Ukraine and Poland in “falsification and re-writing” of their history. It is a fact that both Nazi Germany and the Stalinist USSR were totalitarian regimes, which caused the deaths of tens of millions of people. It is also proven that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact contained the Secret Supplementary Protocol, which assumed the division of the territories of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Romania into Soviet and Nazi spheres of influence. The Soviet Union's occupation of the Baltic states lasted from 1940-1941 and 1944-1990 and resulted in mass deportations and repressions against local populations. Read similar cases claiming that Lithuanian authorities rewrite the history of their own country, that Poland and Lithuania question the status of Russia as a country who won WWII, and that US vassals question the outcome and results of the WWII.

Disinfo: US Department of Defense has a secret biological laboratory in Georgia

There is a so-called Public Health Research Centre or Lugar Laboratory in Georgia.

It is believed that this centre contains a biological laboratory belonging to the US Department of Defence. In 2015, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the Lugar Center is hosting a research centre for the United States Armed Forces.

Russian officials suspect that the US and Georgian authorities are trying to cover up the activities of this biological laboratory that examines serious epidemic diseases.

Mar 04, 2020
Disproof

Conspiracy theory based on recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about biological weapons and the Lugar Lab in Georgia.

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.

Disinfo: American intelligence has arbitrarily accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 US elections

American intelligence has arbitrarily accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 US election process and for nearly two years, allegations of attempts to influence American democracy have been investigated by US special prosecutor Robert Mueller, “to break down the conspiracy theory between the Russian authorities and the Republican President (Donald) Trump.” In the end, Mueller admitted that there was no conspiracy and found no evidence of it.

Mar 04, 2020
Disproof

A recurring narrative of denials which Moscow has issued regarding its involvement in the 2016 presidential election in the United States employing the long-established charge of Russophobia which the Kremlin uses to deflect criticism, however legitimate.

Before the Robert Mueller report was published, Russian meddling in the 2016 election had already been established by US intelligence agencies. Thus, the Special Investigation was primarily concerned with "whether any Americans […] joined the Russian conspiracies to influence the election" (p.2).