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Disinfo: The US produced coronavirus and its army spread it

Summary

The United States should respond to international allegations about its role in producing and spreading coronavirus and continuing its criminal policies against the Iranian people by continuing economic sanctions.

The US military may have brought the epidemic to Wuhan.

Disproof

Conspiracy theories about the 2019-nCoV coronavirus, there is no evidence that suggests that the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is used as a weapon against other states or that it has been fabricated inside laboratories.

The virus was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in central China and has been rapidly spreading with new cases being reported in almost every country around the world, including the United States and France, causing 292142 confirmed cases and 12784 deaths up until 22 March 2020.

Regarding sanctions, the US Treasury announced on the 27th of February that it was lifting some terrorism-related sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran, which re-opens a channel for humanitarian trade that had been closed since September 2019. The medicines are being sent to Iran through businesses in Switzerland, whose government has acted as a conduit between Washington and Tehran.

As for the claim that the US military may have brought the epidemic to Wuhan, apart from American soldiers, there were, in fact, 17 teams with over 280 athletes and staff from different countries and nations participating in the Military World Games that was held from October 18–27, 2019 in the capital of Hubei Province in Wuhan. The first case of Coronavirus was registered on 17 November 2019 that is 31 days after the closing ceremony of the Military World Games, and so far there is no evidence to prove any connection between the two events.

Read similar cases claiming that coronavirus is an Anglo-Saxon biological warning: originates in US labs; targets opponents of the US, and that the coronavirus was created on purpose.

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publication/media

RT Arabic (Archived)
almayadeen (Archived)
athrpress (Archived)
manar.com (Archived)
alwafd (Archived)
Al-Bayader (Archived)
watania.net
Maannews (Archived)
jannahnews.com (Archived)
manateq.net (Archived)
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  • Reported in: Issue 191
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 18/03/2020
  • Language/target audience: Arabic
  • Country: China, US
  • Keywords: coronavirus, Conspiracy theory, Virus / bacteria threat, Biological weapons

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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Western sanctions are a result of Crimea’s return to Russia

Western countries imposed since mid-2014 several sanctions on Moscow because of the return of Crimea to the strength of Russia, and because of Russia’s position on the Ukrainian crisis.

March 24, 2020
Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.

Crimea was illegally annexed by Moscow based on an illegitimate referendum. On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in which it stated that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. On 17th December 2018, the UN General Assembly confirmed its non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea.

US created the Coronavirus in 2015 and named it SHC014

A report published by the American magazine “Nature”, known for its seriousness, adds “insult to injury” regarding the COVID-19 Coronaviurs. The report published on the 12th of November 2015 states that US scientists created a hybrid version of a coronavirus for bats related with a virus that causes SARS, called “SHC014” in a laboratory.

March 24, 2020
Disproof

Conspiracy theory about the 2019-nCoV coronavirus.

There is no basis to the claim that 2019-nCoV coronavirus was man-made. Volume 9 medical Journal “Emerging Microbes & Infections” published a study in 2020 entitled “No credible evidence supporting claims of the laboratory engineering of SARS-CoV-2” in which rumours about the epidemic being constructed inside laboratories are clearly dismissed. Regarding the 2015 study mentioned in the article, this is also addressed in the medical Journal as follows:

Poland has made Russophobia a cornerstone of its policies

The current Polish authorities have made Russophobia one of the cornerstones of their policies, constantly speaking about the ‘Russian threat’ and trying to portray their country as a victim of both Nazi Germany and the USSR in World War II.

March 23, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative equating criticism of Russia's actions with an irrational hatred of Russia itself; attempting to distort the events of the Second World War and rewrite its history in a way that is favourable to Russia.

The Nazi-Soviet occupation of Poland is a matter of historical record, not of portrayal. The invasion was coordinated on the basis of the the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which was accompanied by a secret supplementary protocol on the delimitation of areas of mutual interest in Eastern Europe. A separate provision of the protocol entitled the Nazi Germany and the USSR to jointly conduct a "territorial-political reorganisation" of Poland, and to determine "whether it is in the (signatories') mutual interest to preserve the independent Polish State."