Disinfo: The MH17 case is politically motivated

Summary

The results of the investigation of the Almaz-Antey firm are not taken into account by MH17 investigators. The firm showed in 2015 that 9M38M1 rockets cause damage to airplanes on impact that were not present on the Malaysian Boeing that was shot down over Eastern Ukraine.

Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine, aiming to discredit the criminal trial and the Joint Investigation Team (JIT). The public hearing on the incident started on 9 March 2020 in the Netherlands. Both claims by Buk manufacturer Almaz-Antey were debunked back in 2015 by Bellingcat. The article fails to mention that the firm is the manufacturer of the Buk air defence system that downed MH17, according to the Joint Investigation Team (JIT). The JIT has concluded that flight MH17 was shot down on 17 July 2014 by a missile of the 9M38 series, launched by a BUK-TELAR, from farmland in the vicinity of Pervomaiskiy. At that time, the area was controlled by pro-Russian fighters. The BUK-TELAR was brought in from the territory of the Russian Federation and subsequently, after having shot down flight MH17, was taken back to the Russian Federation. For similar cases, see here and here. For our overview and analysis of disinformation narratives around the downing of MH17, click here.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 202
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 09/06/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Hungarian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: The Netherlands, Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: MH17
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Disinfo: NATO is an American puppet 

NATO is an American puppet.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about NATO as a geopolitical project of the US.

NATO was founded in 1949 by twelve sovereign nations including the United States. It has since grown to 30 Allies who each took an individual and sovereign decision to join this Alliance. All decisions in NATO are taken by consensus, after discussion and consultation among member countries, which means that a decision can only be taken if every single member accepts it.

Disinfo: US tests ethnic weapons against Slavs in its biolabs in Ukraine

The US built 8 biological laboratories in Ukraine where they develop and test malicious viruses on Slav populations.

Disproof

This is a recurring conspiracy theory alleging, without evidence, that the United States develops biological weapons and has secret biological laboratories around the world. The disinformation claim also capitalises on the oft-recurring conspiracy theory about the Lugar Lab in Georgia, as well as laboratories in Ukraine, all of them encircling Russia. According to this and similar claims, the main task of these labs is to create "combat" viruses against Russians. Actually, virology laboratories in Ukraine are involved in preventing the risks of complex diseases by pathogens and, together with other similar projects, counteracting bioterrorism. In April, the US Embassy in Ukraine reaffirmed that the country offers its support to ensure Ukraine can detect and report outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose security or stability threats. In June the Ukrainian health ministry answered to a Member of Ukrainian Parliament supporting the idea of secret US labs, that there were no such laboratories. The more the story is proved not based on fact, the more its pro-Russian supporters find it "interesting". See other cases on this narrative.

Disinfo: British secret services recruited Syrian terrorists, former ISIS member confesses

British secret services forced Syrian extremists to work for them, and ordered them to compile information on the Russian facilities in the Arab country, former Islamic State member Mohammed Hussein Saud told Russian journalists. The former extremist admitted that he met with British intelligence officials in the Al Tanf area, on the border with Jordan, where the US military base is located. Saud said that the UK experts needed information on “important sites in Russia and Syria”, namely security sites, to be able to launch a terrorist attack.

Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about alleged Western support to the Islamic State and other terrorist organisations in the Middle East. The mention of a US base in the Al Tanf region in southern Syria seems an attempt to suggest some US involvement in these alleged terrorist plots against Russian forces. The UK and the US are part of the global coalition to defeat the Islamic State, and both countries are part of the Operation Inherent Resolve that has been ongoing to attack and degrade the capabilities of the group since 2014. The EUvsDisinfo database has a long set of disinformation cases on this subject, such as claims that Donald Trump cancelled Daesh funding because he opposes the destruction of the Middle East, that jihadists are US and European proxies in the region, that the US created ISIS when Al Qaeda went outside the script, that US special forces were deployed with Al Qaeda in Idlib, that US and UK will use terrorist organisations against China, that the US is moving ISIS to Afghanistan or that the US may have evacuated ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi instead of killing him.