DISINFO: Investigations in the US media about Russia is what totalitarianism looks like
SUMMARY
The GRU is once again in the spotlight of the American press. The Associated Press and the New York Times published articles about how Russian intelligence is conducting a campaign of misinformation about the coronavirus among Americans in order to instil in them uncertainty about the future and undermine stability. The media refer to some declassified intelligence materials and their own sources. What we see now is what totalitarianism looks like. Real and authentic. When you can declare any quantity and carry any stupidity.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative attempting to depict accusations of Russian meddling in Western life as factually unfounded and driven by "Russophobia". According to the New York Times, declassified U.S. intelligence accuses Moscow of pushing propaganda through alternative websites as Russia refines techniques used in 2016. United States government officials mostly described disinformation focused on the pandemic, but they also outlined ties between Russian intelligence and a think tank that had published articles on politics. From late May to early July, about 150 articles on the pandemic were published by the Russian intelligence-backed effort, American officials said. Information portal oneworld.press and news agency InfoRos, which were mentioned in the investigation, featured as well in the EU DisinfoLab OSINT Investigation. “InfoRos is evolving in a shady grey zone, where regular information activities are mixed with more controversial actions that could be quite possibly linked to the Russian state’s information operations,” the report said. The Washington Post also has previously reported that InfoRos was linked to the GRU.