US accused Russian intelligence of misinformation about vaccines

US accused Russian intelligence of misinformation about vaccines

9 марта 2021, 10:00
The State Department said it had identified four Russian platforms that discredit Western vaccines against COVID-19. Russia is "back to the old tricks" of spreading disinformation, said agency spokesman Ned Price (pictured).

- We can confirm that the Center for Global Engagement (GEC, works under the Department of State and is designed to "counter foreign propaganda" - editor's note) identified four Russian online platforms that worked under the leadership of Russian intelligence services and spread disinformation. These sites included misinformation about two vaccines approved in our country by the FDA, Price said during the briefing.

Note that according to the FDA, to date, vaccines from three manufacturers have been urgently approved in the United States: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen.

According to a State Department spokesman, Russia "has returned to its old tricks".

Earlier, The Wall Street Journal, referring to sources in the American government, wrote that the Russian Federation is conducting a disinformation campaign regarding Western vaccines. The publication said that Washington considers Moscow to be responsible for the information campaign in the media, undermining the credibility of the vaccine company Pfizer, as well as other Western developers. Thus, the Russian Federation allegedly tried to clear the western wound to promote its own drugs.

At the same time, the Center for Global Interaction said that these publications were made at the initiative of Russian intelligence. In particular, they questioned the effectiveness of the drug Pfizer, reported serious side effects of the vaccine, and also said that the United States has accelerated the registration of drugs.

It's worth reminding that in the disinformation campaign, including the spread of the coronavirus, Washington blamed Moscow at the beginning of last year.

"In addition, Russia is conducting a disinformation campaign on the use of the COVID-19 pandemic. Russian disinformation claims that the United States or Western countries are the source of the virus, and also instills uncertainty about the international response", - said Christopher Robinson, First Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

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