Disinfo: Human rights are a Trojan horse in the West’s hybrid warfare

Summary

These days there is a lot of talk about hybrid warfare, and human rights look like a Trojan horse for it. The goal is to store arguments in support of human rights, to use them when the right moment arrives to generate certain situations. This is the new formula: arising compassion and reaching the hearts of the big public, then the media buy the message and spread it so the West can act with impunity.

Disproof

Contrary to the claim, human rights are universal values entitled to all human beings, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Russia is signatory of a series of international treaties on human rights, and especially of the European Convention on Human Rights, and therefore remains legally obliged to observe international standards on human rights and protect them. By claiming that human rights are nothing but a Trojan horse for a Western hybrid warfare, this disinformation narrative aims to deflect criticism on Russia’s violations and abuses, a frequent pro-Kremlin technique. The Trojan horse trope has been used frequently by pro-Kremlin outlets - see example here.

See similar examples in our database, such as claims that the West is trying to eliminate Russia as a geopolitical actor under the pretext of ‘human rights’, that the UN fabricate human rights violations in Crimea, that a UN human rights report on Venezuela aimed to delegitimise the legislative elections, that the West and US use this issue as a tool to blackmail, abuse, threaten, pressurize and destabilize Russia, or that there is no repression in Russia.

This disinformation message appeared in the same TV programme as the claims that “Sanctions are whitewashed under beautiful terms but they are merely illegal actions”, that “Sanctions are preventing the arrival of vaccines in Syria”, and that “Claims about repression and concentration camps in China are exaggerations aiming to stop its influence”

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 234
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 08/03/2021
  • Article language(s) Spanish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia, China, EU, US
  • Keywords: Human rights, Hybrid war, West
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Disinfo: AstraZeneca kills

AstraZeneca kills: a European country refused it.

Disproof

Disinformation that advances pro-Kremlin propaganda against the COVID-19 vaccines produced in the USA and Europe. The claim appeared in the title wrongly creating an impression that AstraZeneca Vaccine is designed to cause deaths.

It is true that in Austria a 49-year old woman died as a result of multiple thromboses and a 35-year-old was also hospitalised for a pulmonary embolism after receiving a vaccine from the same batch. However, the Federal Office for Safety in Health Care of Austria said that there is no evidence of a causal relationship with vaccination.

Disinfo: Instead of vaccine Zelensky might have been jabbed with vitamins

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly got vaccinated with the Indian vaccine, but some have claimed that he was injected with vitamins. The vaccination in public has turned into a show. Zelensky got vaccinated in Donbass, and immediately after the injection, shelling from the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the war zone has sharply increased.

Disproof

Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative denigrating Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelensky.

There is no evidence to claim that the Ukrainian president received a dose of vitamins instead of vaccine. President Zelenskyy tweeted on 2 March 2021 that he was inoculated with Indian vaccine Covishield. A batch of 500,000 doses arrived in Ukraine on February 23 2021.

Disinfo: Teenagers in Estonia are infected by Russophobic alarmism

More and more teenagers in Estonia are ready to defend their country. This is showing that Russophobia in Estonia is widespread. Official Tallinn permanently scares citizens by “threat from East”.

The myth about “threat from East” is the idee fix of the Estonian government. The biggest part of society is infected by Russophobic alarmism.

Disproof

A recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that Estonia is Russophobic.

The starting point of the disinformation narrative was data from the Public Opinion and National Defence Survey, which was published by the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Estonia. The Survey showed that readiness among young people of upper secondary school age to participate in defence activities has increased to 63 per cent, while a year ago it was only 54 per cent.