DISINFO: There is good reason to believe that biological weapons are developed in American laboratories
SUMMARY
In the world, especially at the borders of Russia and China, there are more and more biological laboratories under American control. There is good reason to believe that biological weapons are being developed there.
Lethal microbes from these laboratories can accidentally get into nature and lead to the mass destruction of people both on Russian territory and in neighbouring countries.
RESPONSE
Recurring disinformation narrative alleging that the United States develops biological weapons and has secret biological laboratories around the world.
Consistent with the pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign against biological laboratories in Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine and other countries. The claim about US biolabs in countries bordering Russia aiming to encircle Moscow and spread infectious diseases is a part of a years-long disinformation campaign led by the Kremlin. In fact, biological laboratories are involved in preventing the risks of complex diseases and, together with other similar projects, counteracting bioterrorism.
In Ukraine, the claim often refers to the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU), which is an intergovernmental organisation established in an international agreement in 1993. Its mission is to support civilian science, technology partnerships and collaboration through chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear risk mitigation. The projects of STCU partners include research on adjuvant for improvement of cancer vaccines, detecting trace impurities in biological tissues, human vision diagnostics, and therapy among many others.
In Georgia, the target of pro-Kremlin disinformation is the Richard Lugar Centre for Public Health Research, which is a facility of the National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC). It is a top-tiered institution in NCDC’s laboratory network and serves as a reference laboratory for Georgia’s public health system. Read more about the disinformation campaign surrounding the Lugar Laboratory on Myth Detector.
Due to the increasing cases of dissemination of false information regarding the activities of biological laboratories in Kazakhstan, Kazakh Foreign Ministry stated: "We declare responsibly that no biological weapons development is underway in Kazakhstan, no research is conducted against any other states... The presence of such high-tech facilities reflects the level of development of the state and its ability to respond adequately to biological threats."
National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Armenia is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia. The laboratories are not American, they belong exclusively to the Republic of Armenia. No other state or state structure has an impact on its activities or governance. For further debunk read here.
Read similar cases claiming that the people of Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are “biomaterial” for the Pentagon, that the US tests biological weapons on Ukrainians to further attack Russia, that COVID-19 brought attention to US secret laboratories on the border of Russia and China, that the US involved in the release of COVID-19, that US-controlled biolabs develop biological weapons under the guise of studying dangerous infections; or that COVID-19 is a multi-purpose biological weapon.