Disinfo: Moldova is helped only by China and Russia in the fight with COVID-19

An unfounded conspiracy theory, sharing a recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative about "secret elites" controlling world leaders. COVID-19 comes from a family of viruses originating in animals 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 across the world, with cases being reported in 190 countries, territories and areas. The number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 300,000 globally with over 14,000 deaths (with 5,476 only in Italy) by 23 March 2020. See more examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation about the coronavirus here.

Conspiracy theory about the 2019-nCoV coronavirus, based on recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about biological weapons. The narratives also resemble a recurring conspiracy theory about the Lugar Lab in Georgia. Reference to a commentator who is usually presented as a former inspector of the UN Commission on Chemical, Bacteriological and Biological Weapons. In this case, he is presented as a UN expert. According to Russian website “the Insider”, he has no connection with the UN. The virus "2019-nCoV” comes from a family of viruses that include the common cold and viruses such as SARS and MERS. There is no evidence to suggest it was developed artificially in a laboratory as a weapon of mass destruction. A group of public health scientists have condemned rumours and conspiracy theories about the origin of the coronavirus outbreak: "We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin." The authors of The Lancetstatement note that scientists from several countries who have studied SARS-CoV-2 “overwhelmingly conclude that this coronavirus originated in wildlife", just like many other viruses that have recently emerged in humans. There are numerous similar disinformation cases about coronavirus claiming that coronavirus was created in a laboratory, or that it is an Anglo-Saxon biological warning, a US provocation against China, a tool to weaken the Chinese economy, and an attempt by the Anglo-Saxons to control China. Additionally, there is no evidence that the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center was conducting experiments on biological weapons, and especially not ones similar to the abuses committed by Unit 731. On a hearing on COVID-19 in the House, Robert Redfield did admit that some influenza deaths were the results of a COVID-19 infection, but he did not say when these misdiagnoses occurred; thus, there is no proof that the so-called "zero patient" was in the United States.