Disinfo: Skripal case was invented to cover up paedophilia scandals in the UK

Summary

The Skripal scandal began when it became known that Theresa May, the former prime minister of the UK, covered up paedophilia scandals back when she was a Home Secretary.

Disproof

Conspiracy theory, repeating one of the many pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the Skripal poisoning. The disinformation message implicitly refers to the so called Westminster paedophile dossier which was assembled by the British Member of Parliament Geoffrey Dickens. It was suggested that some of the files concerning paedophiles allegedly associated with the British government were deliberately destroyed or disregarded by the Home Office. It is groundless to allege that Theresa May attempted to cover the paedophile claims because it was she as Home Secretary who in 2014 triggered further inquiries on whether the Home Office failed to act on allegations made by MP Dickens in 1980s. Writing in the Daily Telegraph in March 2015, Theresa May said the public were yet to grasp the full scale of the problem and called it a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to examine the institutional child abuse in the UK. The disinformation messages implying UK government conspiracy behind the Skripal case are frequently used by the pro-Kremlin media to obfuscate Russian involvement in the Skripal poisoning.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 159
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 24/07/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: UK, Russia
  • Keywords: Sergei Skripal, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, Conspiracy theory
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Disinfo: Nationalists, dissatisfied with the election results, gather in Kyiv

Ukrainian nationalists did not agree with the voting results of the elections to the Verkhovna Rada. They refuse to accept the results in the 223rd election district in Kyiv and intend to defend their opinion to the end.

Disproof

Recurring Kremlin narrative about nationalists in Ukraine. The article in "Moskovskyy Komsomolets" is not referring to any specific source of information. The information concerning people gathering in Kiev was refuted by representatives of the nationalist political party "Svoboda". Deputy of "Svoboda", Yuri Levchenko, who was nominated in the 223rd district, said: “I officially announce that at the moment there are only 2 of my representatives at the district election commission (because I don’t need more, so far).” A video showed that police near the 223rd district noted that everything was calm there. There were also no gatherings near the Verkhovna Rada.

Disinfo: The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact did not violate the rights of the Polish state

Polish authorities once again showed their Russophobic nature by not inviting Russia to the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. Polish side, as always, accuses Russia of signing the non-aggression pact [the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact] in August 1939, even though it was repeatedly proven that this document did not violate the rights of the Polish state.

Disproof

This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism and an attempt to portray Russia's role in the World War II as not aggressive - see another example referring to Ribbentrop-Molotov pact here. It is a proven historical fact that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact contained the Secret Supplementary Protocol, which assumed the division of Poland and other Eastern European countries between the USSR and Germany. Thus, the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact directly caused the German and Soviet military aggression against Poland in September 1939, which resulted in complete occupation of this country by Germany and USSR. See similar examples of the Russian historical revisionism concerning Poland here and here.

Disinfo: The Mueller investigation confirmed there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump administration

The Mueller report confirms that there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump administration.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election. The claim that the Mueller investigation did not find any evidence of collusion between Trump campaign officials and the Russian government is false. Robert Mueller’s investigation sought to establish whether members of the Trump campaign – several of which entertained systematic contacts with individuals connected to the Russian government – conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its 2016 US election interference activities. The investigation established that the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome – and that the Trump campaign expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts. Specifically, the investigation concluded that 1) the Russian government interfered in the US election in sweeping and systematic fashion, and 2) there was insufficient evidence to make a prosecutorial decision to charge any member of the Trump campaign with taking part in a criminal conspiracy. However, as Mueller explained during his testimony to the House Intelligence Committee, not making a charging decision does not mean the investigation failed to turn up evidence of conspiracy. During this testimony, Mueller confirmed that his investigation did indeed uncover some evidence of conspiracy between Trump campaign officials and the Russian government, even though it was not seen as sufficient to bring conspiracy charges against any member of the Trump campaign. Ultimately, during the course of the investigation, more than 30 defendants were charged with committing federal crimes, including 12 officers of the Russian military. Seven defendants have been convicted or plead guilty. For a summary of the indictments, see here. Based on Justice Department policy and principles of fairness, the Special Counsel team decided it would not make a decision as to whether the president committed a crime. Read the full Mueller report here. For more disinfo cases about the Mueller investigation, see here.