Disinfo: The US has organised a destabilisation operation to bring about regime change in Cuba using bot campaigns on Twitter

Summary

The US has organised a destabilisation operation to bring about regime change in Cuba using bot campaigns on Twitter. This operation began with the hashtag #SOSCuba, using the same method used in other US-sponsored regime change programs, such as the overthrow of Bolivian president Evo Morales in 2019, and the attempted coup d’état against Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.

Disproof

This is a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about recent anti-government protests in Cuba. This narrative fits into a broader pro-Kremlin narrative about “colour revolutions” allegedly promoted by the US or other Western actors around the world to overthrow governments that are unwelcome to the West. This narrative often claims that the US uses social media technologies to foment protests and destabilise governments targeted for regime change.

Pro-Kremlin media frequently portray popular protests around the world as colour revolutions instigated by the US/West (such as the protests in Ukraine, Belarus, Venezuela, Hong Kong). This narrative claims that protests, disorders and civil uprisings are never manifestations of popular discontent but are "colour revolutions" directed and funded by Western governments or intelligence services, portrayed as aggressive actors constantly preparing new coups.

The article’s claim that recent anti-government protests in Cuba were organised by the US does not reflect reality. A series of ongoing protests against the Cuban government and the ruling Communist Party of Cuba began on 11 July 2021, triggered by the shortage of food and medicine and the government's response to the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba. The protests come amid a severe economic crisis. The protests, which started on 11 July, were not only the biggest but also the most widespread to be held in Cuba in decades. The protests are the largest anti-government demonstrations since the Maleconazo in 1994.

Furthermore, although the United States "applauds the Bolivian people for demanding freedom", there is no evidence to suggest that the US was directly involved in Evo Morales' resignation. Morales’ resignation came during mass protests in the country after the Organisation of American States (OAS) reported “extensive irregularities” in the election for his fourth term. Read the full debunk by Polygraph.

There is also no evidence of official US involvement in the failed military incursion of May 1, 2020 in Venezuela. Associated Press carried out a thorough investigation of the operation but found no indication that the US government supported the actions of Jordan Goudreau, the promoter of the attempt, nor that US president Donald Trump had authorised covert operations against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

Read similar cases claiming that The US is trying to arrange a "colour revolution" in Cuba, that The US is behind the resignation of Evo Morales, that Protests in Cuba are not genuine but provoked by the US, and that the US government is behind an alleged coup in Venezuela.

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it.sputniknews.com (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 253
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13/07/2021
  • Article language(s) Italian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Cuba, US, Bolivia, Venezuela
  • Keywords: Coup, Colour revolutions, Protest, social media, Twitter
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Disinfo: OPCW report proves Navalny's case was prepared in advance

In an OPCW draft report, the attention of Russian experts was drawn to paragraph 1.41, which says: "At the request of Germany, on 20 August 2020 the Secretariat deployed a team to perform a technical assistance visit (TAV) in relation to the suspected poisoning of a Russian citizen."

Navalny flew from Tomsk to Moscow on the morning of August 20. After the plane took off, the crew urgently landed the plane in Omsk after Navalny felt ill, and he was taken unconscious in an ambulance. All that day, paramedics worked on reviving him. But the German authorities asked the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for help before Navalny was poisoned?

Can you imagine how long it takes to prepare a request from a country to the OPCW to assist in the investigation of chemical weapons poisoning cases? Germany must have what will allow it to draw preliminary conclusions to contact the OPCW. Given that the organization sent the team on August 20, this means that the request arrived earlier, that is, before Navalny left the hotel for the airport. With knowledge of the German bureaucracy and the bureaucracy of the OPCW, it can only be imagined that everything was prepared in advance.

Jul 12, 2021
Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative trying to deflect the blame for Navalny's poisoning from Russian actors. This narrative is also consistent with multiple previous attempts at discrediting the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

In fact, mentioning 20 August as the date when the OPCW secretariat deployed a technical assistance team was simply a mistake in the draft report of the Ninety-Seventh Session of the OPCW's Executive Council, as explained by the spokesman of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rainer Breul. The mistake was later fixed in an updated version of the report.

Disinfo: Ukrainians and Russians are one people

Ukraine was gradually drawn into a dangerous geopolitical game, the goal of which is to turn the country into a barrier between Europe and Russia, into a springboard against Russia.

Western authors of the "anti-Russia" project set up the Ukrainian political system in such a way that presidents, deputies, ministers change, but there is a constant orientation towards separation with Russia, towards enmity with it.

After all, [Ukrainians and Russians] are one people.

Jul 12, 2021
Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Ukraine being under "external control" mixed with a narrative alleging that it is a Russophobic country. Earlier cases included claims that Ukraine "sold itself to external control" or that Ukraine is under "complete subordination to US interests."

Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically-elected president and parliament. The country is not controlled by the US or any other foreign government. Both the EU and the US respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ukraine is a strategic partner for the EU and NATO.

Disinfo: Ukraine is a Western project directed against Russia

Western countries recreated Ukraine as an anti-Russian project whose purpose is to start a conflict with Russia. It even oppresses its ethnic Russian citizens as evident by Ukraine adopting the law “On the indigenous peoples of Ukraine.” Ukraine is currently a militarised country ruled from outside, Ukraine does not respect Minsk agreements.

Jul 12, 2021
Disproof

Recurrent Kremlin disinformation narrative to undermine Ukrainian statehood.

Western countries did not cause a deterioration of relations between Ukraine and Russia, Russia itself entered into confrontation with Kyiv when it illegally occupied and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, and subsequently supported a pro-Russian separatist uprising in Donbas region, even deploying Russian troops. Moreover, Western countries such as France and Germany are supporting peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, with both countries participating in the Minsk protocol and Normandy Contact Group.