DISINFO: The West is financing a disinformation campaign against the Russian vaccine Sputnik V
DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
  • Outlet: it.sputniknews.com (archived)*
  • Date of publication: December 11, 2020
  • Outlet language(s): Italian
  • Reported in: Issue 225
  • Countries / regions discussed: EU, US, Russia
Tags:
Sputnik V coronavirus vaccination West Anti-Russian

DISINFO: The West is financing a disinformation campaign against the Russian vaccine Sputnik V

SUMMARY

The West is financing a disinformation campaign against the Russian anti-Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V

RESPONSE

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on coronavirus aiming to promote the Sputnik V vaccine and to present Russia as a 'leader in COVID-19 management'.

It is not true that the West conducts campaigns to discredit the Russian vaccine Sputnik V.

Reservations about the Russian Sputnik V vaccine are caused by the fact that Russia didn’t complete the extensive trials which WHO insists that a vaccine must undergo involving thorough testing to examine the vaccine’s safety and efficacy before it is released. Rolling out an inadequately vetted vaccine could endanger the people receiving it. Sputnik V was met with scepticism and criticism, even by Russian specialists.

On the other hand, there is credible evidence that the Russian government pressed Russian scientists and researchers to be the first in the world to develop a vaccine against Covid-19, and did everything to shorten the process, raising concerns about the safety and efficiency of the Sputnik V vaccine. For further debunking, check Polygraph.

Russia has at all times perceived the development of a coronavirus vaccine mainly in terms of geopolitical and economic gain.

Read similar cases claiming that Western media are conducting a propaganda campaign to discredit Russian and Chinese vaccines and that the reasons for the West’s criticism of Sputnik V vaccine are political.

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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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