Disinfo: Trump ordered 250 US soldiers to spread Coronavirus two months before the virus outbreak in Wuhan

Summary

There are big question marks about the spread of the disease (Coronavirus) in countries opposing or competing with the United States of America.

Two months prior to the Coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan, there were American health exercises in which 250 American soldiers participated. There are talks that the Americans may have spread the virus, and there are those who say that (US President Donald) Trump is the one who gave orders to spread this epidemic.

Disproof

Recurring conspiracy theories that echo pro-Kremlin disinformation about coronavirus. The narratives also resemble a recurring conspiracy theory about the Lugar Lab in Georgia.

Apart from the American soldiers, there were, in fact, 17 teams with over 280 athletes and staff in the Military World Games that was held from October 18–27, 2019 in the capital of Hubei Province in Wuhan. The Coronavirus started to spread 65 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.

Furthermore, a group of 27 prominent public health scientists, from nine countries, wrote a statement published online by The Lancet, that "strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin", and they “overwhelmingly conclude that this coronavirus originated in wildlife,” just like many other viruses that have recently emerged in humans.

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  • Reported in: Issue 186
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27/02/2020
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: China, US
  • Keywords: coronavirus, Biological weapons, Conspiracy theory
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Disinfo: White Helmets carry out criminal activities and are an arm of British and American intelligence

Russia was able, in cooperation with Syrian journalists, to prove that the allegations regarding the use of chemical weapons [in Douma] are pure slander by the Western-backed White Helmets.

The organisation [White Helmets] is funded by British intelligence services and is performing its functions by disseminating information and allegations against Syria and its army.

The White Helmets are an arm of British and American intelligence, and its founder, British intelligence officer James Le Mesurier, was killed in “mysterious circumstances” near his home in Istanbul last November.

The organization uses “humanitarian mask” as a cover for its criminal activities. It cooperates with the “Jabhat al-Nusra” organisation, which controls most of Idlib governorate.

Feb 26, 2020
Disproof

An example of many disinformation and propagandist claims about the White Helmets. Pro-Kremlin media routinely accuse the White Helmets of “working for terrorists” and being a creation of the Western intelligence services. No evidence is given to support these claims.

The "White Helmets" movement originated in Syria in 2012. The organisation, which is made up of 3,400 volunteers including teachers, engineers, tailors and firefighters, states that it has no affiliation to any political or military actor and is committed to rendering services to anyone in need. Volunteers save people from the rubble after bombings, despite the danger of dying themselves as a result of repeated air strikes.

Disinfo: Coronavirus is an artificial virus

Indian scientists have been experimenting with new coronavirus and have discovered that it contains two types of coronavirus – bat and snake, as well as four types of HIV viral infections. In December 2019, we learned about the COVID-19 virus in China. The most interesting is that just a few months before, US President Donald Trump announced that “Unless China pulls itself together, they will be sorely regretting.” Given the findings of Indian scientists, we come to the conclusion that this is an artificial virus.

Feb 26, 2020
Disproof

The statement is another example of conspiracy narratives on a plot against China, profitable to the US. See more examples of groundless statements about the coronavirus here.

A preprint scientific manuscript published Jan. 31 by a group of Indian researchers suggested that the virus, known as COVID-19, may have been deliberately engineered using the HIV. The findings, which fed conspiracy theories that the new virus might be a bioweapon, have sparked a huge controversy. The authors withdrew the paper on Feb. 2 from the bioRxiv preprint server.

Disinfo: Crimea rejoined the embrace of Russia

Crimea rejoined the embrace of Russia.

Feb 26, 2020
Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea.

Crimea did not "return" to Russia but was illegally annexed by Moscow.