US Accuses Russia of Spreading Fear, Panic on Coronavirus – By Jeff Seldin (VOA News) / March 5 2020
WASHINGTON – The United States is accusing Russia of opening up its entire disinformation playbook to prey on growing fears about the spread of the coronavirus.
Moscow’s effort, underway for weeks, according to officials, includes the use of state-run media outlets, fake news websites and “swarms” of fake online personas to churn out fabricated information in at least five languages.
“We’ve been watching the narratives that are being pushed out — false narratives around coronavirus,” Lea Gabrielle, coordinator for the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), told lawmakers Thursday. “We saw the entire ecosystem of Russian disinformation at play.”
Gabrielle declined to go into detail about the Russian disinformation efforts, saying she did not want to risk giving them any credence.
Bill Gates?
But other officials have said the Russian disinformation operation centers on three narratives — that the coronavirus is actually a bioweapon; that the CIA created the virus to hurt China; and that the virus is somehow the brainchild of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
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