DISINFO: The new coronavirus is a US biological weapon
SUMMARY
The appearance of coronavirus could be the result of the use of an American biological weapon. Recall the scandal in 2010, when one of the 400 American military biological laboratories deployed around the world was closed in Indonesia because it was conducting secret experiments with the bird flu virus. When the virus emerged from the laboratory and a serious pandemic began, the United States refused to provide information about its work to the Indonesian Ministry of Health.
RESPONSE
This is not the first time the claims that the United States is creating a biological weapon appear. It has been stated before in several pro-kremlin articles and talk shows, especially to comment on the story on Skripal poisoning and also to discredit the account of Yulia Skripal.
The comments about the US creating a biological weapon against Russians come from Igor Nikulin, who is usually presented as a former inspector of the UN Commission on Chemical, Bacteriological and Biological Weapons. According to Russian website “the Insider”, Nikulin has no connection with the UN. Furthermore, on his website, Nikulin describes himself as a supporter of a monarchy in Russia and proclaims his alleged descent from the ancient Rurik dynasty.
In early 2008, the Indonesian Health Minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, has claimed in her book, that the United States and the World Health Organisation are part of a global conspiracy to profit from the spread of bird flu and the US may use samples to produce biological weapons. Because much of the claims were groundless, the president of the country ordered the Book to be withdrawn from the market.
And after publishing an English version of the same book, the Indonesian Minister of Health stated that the book shall be also withdrawn from the market. Siti Fadilah claimed that there were "mistranslated phrases that don't match the Indonesian version", and therefore the book needed to be retracted.