Disinfo: The campaign against "Sputnik V” is in full swing

Summary

The campaign against the Russian “Sputnik V” vaccine is in full swing, although the vaccine was reached through conventional technology that has been used with success for more than half a century.

Disproof

Disinformation that exploits the coronavirus pandemic to push an allegedly recurring Russophobic narrative towards the Sputnik V vaccine.

In general, the initial announcement of the Sputnik V vaccine has been met with international scepticism and even the World Health Organisation expressed some reservations especially that it hasn’t completed large trials to test the vaccine’s safety and efficacy, and rolling out an inadequately vetted vaccine could endanger people who receive it.

There is no campaign against Sputnik V vaccine. Recently, Russian and British scientists teamed up to trial a combination of the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines to see if protection against Covid-19 can be improved.

Read more cases that claim that the West wants to discredit Sputnik-V vaccine, or that EU prohibits countries from saving its citizens from COVID-19, and that the reasons for the West's criticism of Sputnik-V vaccine are political, or that ugly commercial interests are behind the criticism of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine, or that WHO confirms the "Sputnik-V" vaccine is safe and effective, or even that people shouldn’t trust the Moderna vaccine, and that NATO has a policy of discrediting “Sputnik-V”.

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  • Reported in: Issue 228
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20/01/2021
  • Outlet language(s) Arabic
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia
  • Keywords: Sputnik V, coronavirus, vaccination, Information war
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Disinfo: Special forces detachment "Berkut" tried to protect Ukrainians 7 years ago

Seven years ago, armed clashes broke out in the centre of Kyiv when militant-nationalists from Western Ukraine were brought to Kyiv and the special forces, “Berkut”, tried to protect Ukrainians.

Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Euromaidan protests.

The Ukrainian revolution started from the gathering of students in Kyiv after former president Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign the EU Association Agreement. They were not 'militant-nationalists' who were 'brought to Kyiv'. The memories of participants are well-documented and it shows that there were people from all over the country who participated by their own will. Far-right groups had a very limited presence during the protests.

Disinfo: Navalny is used as an instrument by the Western special services

Foreign states are behind all the actions of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny; there is no place for such people who “betrayed the country” in the Russian authorities.

Today, Navalny is used as an instrument (interference) by the Western special services, the State Department. Everyone should have an understanding that everything he does is backed by foreign states. Our task is to prevent foreign interference, whoever pursues policy here, the country must be protected.

And if a person has betrayed the country, if he is on foreign funding, there is nothing for him to do in any government bodies. You cannot help him engage in politics, represent our citizens in different government bodies.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Alexey Navalny.

Anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny has long been the most prominent face of Russian opposition to President Vladimir Putin. His candidacy in the 2018 presidential election was banned by authorities over his conviction by a Russian court of embezzlement, which bars him from running for office. He has been arrested and imprisoned several times during his political career.

Disinfo: Navalny's arrest could be used by the West to impose new anti-Russian sanctions

The arrest of opposition leader Alexey Navalny after his return to Moscow from Germany, where he was hospitalised after he fell ill in Omsk, Siberia, has provoked a new wave of reactions in the West against Russia. Many analysts believe that this is part of a strategy to impose new sanctions against Moscow.

Disproof

A new twist of a previously used pro-Kremlin narrative that the poisoning of Alexei Navalny (and now his return to Russia) is a secret project to introduce sanctions on Russia.

Contrary to the claim, which is not backed by any evidence, Alexei Navalny is an independent Russian politician, not a pawn of any foreign government. His decision to return to Russia is related to his refusal to become an exile and to internal deliberations of his political movement, not to any order from abroad.