Fakes and bots: US accused Russia of escalating panic about Chinese coronavirus - ForumDaily
The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.
Переклад цього матеріалу українською мовою з російської було автоматично здійснено сервісом Google Translate, без подальшого редагування тексту.
Bu məqalə Google Translate servisi vasitəsi ilə avtomatik olaraq rus dilindən azərbaycan dilinə tərcümə olunmuşdur. Bundan sonra mətn redaktə edilməmişdir.

Fakes and bots: US accused Russia of escalating panic about Chinese coronavirus

U.S. authorities say thousands of Russian-related social media accounts are sending out troubling reports of the Chinese coronavirus, reports AFP.

Фото: Depositphotos

US State Department spokesman Philip Ricker said the Russian disinformation campaign promotes baseless conspiracy theories about US involvement in an outbreak of coronavirus. In particular, we are talking about allegations that COVID-19 is a biological weapon produced by the CIA, and the spread of the virus is an attempt by the United States to "wage an economic war with China."

According to Riker, Russia intends to "sow discord and destroy American institutions and unions from within."

On the subject: In the United States created a vaccine against Chinese coronavirus and are ready to give it to other countries for free

“By spreading the misinformation about coronavirus, Russian attackers once again decide to jeopardize public safety by diverting attention from global health care,” he said.

According to Riker, the fake accounts for promoting the Russian campaign appeared on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and in several foreign languages.

A misinformation campaign was discovered by US observers in mid-January after Chinese officials announced their third death from a new coronavirus. Several thousand online accounts were identified as being created in Russia specifically for reporting important events such as the Syrian war, yellow vest protests in France, and mass demonstrations in Chile. They are now publishing almost identical messages about the new coronavirus, the report said, prepared for the Center for Global Interaction of the State Department and reviewed by AFP.

Accounts are managed by people, not bots, messages are published at the same time in English, Spanish, Italian, German and French. These accounts can be associated with Russian proxies or send similar messages to resources supported by Russia, such as RT and Sputnik.

Russian state-funded media began to spread anti-Western messages about the causes of the epidemic on January 20. The next day, social media account operators began publishing similar messages around the world, US officials said.

Lea Gabriel, head of the Global Engagement Center, whose task is to track and expose propaganda and misinformation, said: “Now we can see misinformation, including on state television and websites, there are also thousands of fake personalities on social networks promoting the same same topics. "

During many events of world significance, these accounts actively posted information for 72 hours after the event. But reports of a new coronavirus are downloaded every day for the past month. By all indications, Russia wants this story to not soon disappear from the headlines.

“The number of coronavirus cases in the world has not reached its peak. So the Russian strategy is to use the information environment cheaply but very effectively to sow discord between us and China for economic purposes,” said another official from the Global Engagement Center.

Experts draw parallels with previous conspiracy theories from Moscow, including the KGB disinformation campaign in the 1980s, which convinced many around the world that American scientists had created the HIV virus that causes AIDS.

On the subject: New study: risk group and all methods of transmission of Chinese coronavirus

U.S. intelligence also said that Russia intervened by manipulating social networks in the 2016 elections and is trying to do it again in 2020. The Kremlin has denied the allegations, and President Donald Trump has ridiculed Russia's offers of help.

The United States believes that the latest Russian disinformation campaign makes it difficult to tackle the epidemic, especially in Africa and Asia. Local residents begin to believe in the involvement of the West in the problem.

On Friday, February 21, the World Health Organization warned of an increase in coronavirus infections without a clear link to China.

The State Department spokesman said: “It looks like Russian operatives were given carte blanche to destroy the reputation of the United States. Regardless of whether a particular disinformation is aimed at the highest levels or not, it’s a fact: they will try to cause the greatest possible damage with far-reaching consequences. ”

Read also on ForumDaily:

Georgia, USA and Britain accuse Russia of cyber attack on Georgian sites

P'P ° SЂSЂ SЃRѕR RґR · ° F "RіSЂSѓRїRїSѓ RїSЂRѕRєSѓSЂRѕSЂRѕRІ PI RЎRORђ RґR" SЏ SЂR ° SЃSЃR "RμRґRѕRІR ° RЅRoSЏ RґRμR" P RїRѕ RѕSЃSЃRoRo Ryo RЈRєSЂR ° RoRЅRμ

Media: US intelligence believes that Russia will try to intervene in the 2020 presidential election

Miscellanea Russia At home coronavirus disinformation
Subscribe to ForumDaily on Google News

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis. 



 
1090 requests in 1,192 seconds.