Ukraine biolabs conspiracy theory

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The Ukraine biolabs conspiracy theory emerged in March 2022 during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when Russian officials claimed without evidence that public health facilities in Ukraine were "secret U.S.-funded biolabs" purportedly developing biological weapons, which was debunked as disinformation by multiple media outlets, scientific groups, and international bodies. [1] [2] [3] [4] The claim was amplified by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinese state media. [5] [6] [7] [8] The claim was also promoted by QAnon and gained support among far-right groups in the U.S. [15]

Contents

Russian scientists, inside and outside Russia, have publicly accused the Russian government of lying about evidence for covert "bioweapons labs" in Ukraine, saying that documents presented by Russia's Defense Ministry describe pathogens collected for public health research. [16] The "bioweapons labs" claim has also been refuted by the US, Ukraine, the United Nations, [10] [17] [4] and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. [3]

Kremlin accusations and spread of conspiracy theory

Russian and Chinese officials and state media

Both Russian and Chinese officials have made accusations in attempt to boost the conspiracy theory. Russian proponents have included Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, United Russia leader Dmitry Medvedev, [18] the official Twitter account of the Russian embassy in Sarajevo, [19] and the Russian state-owned media outlets Sputnik and TASS. [20] [21] China's Foreign Affairs Ministry has asked for a "full account" of Ukraine's "biological military activities at home and abroad." [14]

On March 11, Russia called a meeting in the UN to discuss the allegations, which Reuters described as an attempt to re-assert the unproven allegations without evidence. This led the UN to say there was no evidence of a Ukraine biological weapons program, while the United States and its allies accused Russia of spreading the claim as a prelude to Russia potentially launching biological or chemical attacks. [22] [4]

Online conspiracy theorists

In March 2022, CNN, France 24, and Foreign Policy reported that QAnon promoters were echoing Russian disinformation that created conspiracy theories about US-funded laboratories in Ukraine. [23] [10] [24] Russian state media falsely claimed that "secret US biolabs" were creating weapons, a claim refuted by the US, Ukraine, and the United Nations. [10] [17] In reality, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense signed an agreement in 2005 to prevent the spread of technologies and pathogens that might be used in the development of biological weapons. [25] New laboratories were established to secure and dismantle the remnants of the Soviet biological weapons program, and since then have been used to monitor and prevent new epidemics. The laboratories are publicly listed, not secret, and are owned and operated by host countries such as Ukraine, not by the US. [23] [25] The Ukrainian-owned threat reduction labs, which are listed by the US Embassy, also send academics to international scientific conferences who publicize their work. [26] In the conspiracy theory interpretation, QAnon followers have claimed to justify the invasion of Ukraine as an effort by Putin and Trump to destroy "military" laboratories in Ukraine. [23] [10] InfoWars has also supported the conspiracy theory, running a headline: "Russian Strikes Targeting US-Run Bio-Labs in Ukraine?". [21]

Zignal Labs assessed that English language influencers had initially elaborated the talking point, which was spread by Russian propaganda thereafter, with Russian-language posts on "biolabs" increasing after March 6 to outpace English-language posts on the subject. [14] According to cybersecurity and threat intelligence company Pyrra Technologies, the first mention of biolabs in Ukraine was a February 14 post on alt-tech far-right social network Gab, ten days before the start of the invasion. [14]

Spread of conspiracy theory and reactions

According to journalist Justin Ling, the Ukraine bioweapons myth spread "from a fringe QAnon channel directly to Fox News and Donald Trump Jr." Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson claimed that the U.S. was "funding the creation of deadly pathogens" and broadcast statements by Russian and Chinese government spokesmen accusing Washington of operating a bioweapons program in Europe. Tucker Carlson continued the story on several episodes, including an episode with Glenn Greenwald on March 10, 2022. [21]

That month, as reported by Mother Jones , [27] the Kremlin sent a memo to state-friendly media outlets saying it was "essential" to use video clips of Carlson "as much as possible". Mother Jones further observed Carlson was the only Western media pundit the Kremlin adopted in this way. [28] [29]

Newsweek reported former U.S. representative from Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard had been labelled as a "Russian asset" by critics for espousing the idea that "U.S.-funded bio labs" in Ukraine are conducting research into "deadly pathogens". Although Gabbard "did not repeat the claims of Ukraine developing bio weapons with U.S. military backing... a number of people criticized Gabbard's tweet for appearing to echo falsehoods being peddled by Russia," with critics including Illinois Republican representative Adam Kinzinger [30] and Mitt Romney. [31] Tulsi Gabbard also appeared on Fox News to discuss the claims with Tucker Carlson, and clips of this were played on Russian state television. [30] Gabbard later clarified the comments to say that she does not believe there are bioweapons in Ukraine, but said that labs allegedly researching pathogens in an active warzone may be damaged by Russia. [31]

A Brookings Institution dataset tracked how a group of right-wing political podcasts were promoting the "Ukraine bioweapons labs" myth between March 8 and 18, with the most prolific being Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk, who supported the narrative in five episodes each. Previous COVID-19 conspiracy theories were frequently rehashed, with Anthony Fauci mentioned over 50 times, among various unsubstantiated accusations. [32] According to Brookings, the podcasting medium served to propagate disinformation potentially faster than 'social' media, because there is no "built-in mechanism" for listeners to push back on claims or fact-check. [32]

A study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that Facebook failed to label 80% of posts sharing external articles that spread the conspiracy theory as false or misleading. The posts used in the study were dated from 24 February to 14 March. A Facebook spokesperson said that the study "misrepresents the scale and scope of our efforts". [33]

Connection to previous conspiracy theories

Political scientist and espionage scholar Thomas Rid suggests this may be a case of the Kremlin "accusing the other side of the thing they are in fact doing" based on historical precedent. [14] In the 1980s, when the Soviets deployed chemical weapons in Laos and Afghanistan, Soviet-aligned press published disinformation alleging that the CIA was weaponizing mosquitoes. [14] [34] False Soviet reports blaming HIV/AIDS on the United States, commonly called Operation INFEKTION, [35] also aimed to distract from contemporary Soviet activities. [14] [36] [37] Additionally, Thomas Rid stated that the right-wing adoption of the Ukraine biolabs conspiracy theory may be influenced by previous far-right conspiracy theories about China and COVID-19. [14]

The Kremlin has a history of fomenting conspiracy theories about ordinary biology labs in former Soviet republics, having previously spread propaganda about Georgia and Kazakhstan similar to recent accusations deployed against Ukraine. [38] [39] [40] [41] For example, the Kremlin made false accusations against the public health facility, Lugar Research Center in Georgia, as the research center worked on fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. [39] [40] The labs have been widely observed by international partnerships since the Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction, which was established to contain and eliminate weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, and biological) left behind in the former Soviet Union. When this threat reduction was complete, the research facilities, owned by the newly independent countries, began the task of public health research, including monitoring and preventing new epidemics. [40] The Department of Defense provides "technical support to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health since 2005 to improve public health laboratories" as part of a continuation of international agreements to reduce biological threats, but does not control or provide personnel to the public health facilities. [42] [43] [44]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Ukraine war: Fact-checking Russia's biological weapons claims". BBC News. 15 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Wong, Edward (2022-03-11). "U.S. Fights Bioweapons Disinformation Pushed by Russia and China". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  3. 1 2 "In Ukraine, US-military-linked labs could provide fodder for Russian disinformation". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  4. 1 2 3 Landay, Jonathan; Pamuk, Humeyra; Lewis, Simon (2022-03-11). "U.N. says no evidence to back Russian claim of Ukraine biological weapons program". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  5. ↑ "China Pushes Conspiracy Theory About U.S. Labs in Ukraine". Bloomberg . March 8, 2022.
  6. ↑ Rising, David (March 11, 2022). "China amplifies unsupported Russian claim of Ukraine biolabs". Associated Press. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  7. ↑ McCarthy, Simone (March 10, 2022). "China's promotion of Russian disinformation indicates where its loyalties lie". CNN . Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on March 8, 2022". www.fmprc.gov.cn. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  9. ↑ O'Sullivan, Donie. "Analysis: Russia and QAnon have the same false conspiracy theory about Ukraine". CNN. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "China and QAnon embrace Russian disinformation justifying war in Ukraine". France 24. 2022-03-12. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  11. ↑ Ling, Justin. "False Claims of U.S. Biowarfare Labs in Ukraine Grip QAnon". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  12. ↑ "Russia's bioweapon conspiracy theory finds support in US". www.aljazeera.com.
  13. ↑ "What are Ukraine 'biolabs' and why have they become an obsession for Fox News?". Independent.co.uk . 18 March 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Collins, Ben; Collier, Kevin (14 March 2022). "Russian propaganda on Ukraine's non-existent 'biolabs' boosted by U.S. far right". NBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  15. ↑ [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
  16. ↑ Mackey, Robert (17 March 2022). "Russia Is Lying About Evidence of Bioweapons Labs in Ukraine, Russian Biologists Say". The Intercept. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  17. 1 2 "United Nations Not Aware of Any Biological Weapons Programmes, Disarmament Chief Affirms as Security Council Meets to Address Related Concerns in Ukraine | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  18. ↑ Ling, Justin. "How U.S. Bioweapons in Ukraine Became Russia's New Big Lie". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  19. ↑ Gadzo, Mersiha. "Time for Bosnia to 'get rid of Russian influence': Analysts". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  20. ↑ Ling, Justin (2022-03-17). "American Ex-Cop Goes to Ukraine on Twisted Mission to Vindicate Putin". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  21. 1 2 3 Ling, Justin (2022-03-18). "How 'Ukrainian bioweapons labs' myth went from QAnon fringe to Fox News". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  22. ↑ Rigby, Jennifer; Landay, Jonathan (2022-03-11). "EXCLUSIVE WHO says it advised Ukraine to destroy pathogens in health labs to prevent disease spread". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  23. 1 2 3 O'Sullivan, Donie (10 March 2022). "Analysis: Russia and QAnon have the same false conspiracy theory about Ukraine". CNN. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  24. ↑ Ling, Justin. "False Claims of U.S. Biowarfare Labs in Ukraine Grip QAnon". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  25. 1 2 "Ukraine, US Biolabs, and an Ongoing Russian Disinformation Campaign". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  26. ↑ "Biological Threat Reduction Program". U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  27. ↑ Pengelly, Martin (14 March 2022). "Kremlin memos urged Russian media to use Tucker Carlson clips – report". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  28. ↑ Corn, David (March 13, 2022). "Leaked Kremlin Memo to Russian Media: It Is 'Essential' to Feature Tucker Carlson". Mother Jones. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  29. ↑ Pengelly, Martin (March 14, 2022). "Kremlin memos urged Russian media to use Tucker Carlson clips – report". The Guardian. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  30. 1 2 "Tulsi Gabbard labeled a "Russian asset" for pushing U.S. biolabs in Ukraine claim". Newsweek. 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  31. 1 2 Palmer, Ewan (2022-03-15). "Tulsi Gabbard clarifies Ukraine bio labs remarks after widespread outrage". Newsweek. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  32. 1 2 Danaditya, Jessica Brandt, Valerie Wirtschafter, and Adya (2022-03-23). "Popular podcasters spread Russian disinformation about Ukraine biolabs". Brookings. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  33. ↑ Paul, Kari (March 31, 2022). "Facebook fails to label 80% of posts promoting bioweapons conspiracy theory". The Guardian. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  34. ↑ The U.S.S.R.'s AIDS Disinformation Campaign. Ann Arbor, Michigan: U.S. Department of State. 1987. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  35. ↑ "Lessons From Operation "Denver," the KGB's Massive AIDS Disinformation Campaign". The MIT Press Reader. 2020-05-26. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  36. ↑ Producer, Molly Thomas, Investigative Correspondent and Riley Nimens (2022-03-11). "Online propaganda war rages in parallel to battles on Ukraine streets". W5. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  37. ↑ "Russia claims U.S. labs across Ukraine are secretly developing biological weapons". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  38. ↑ Fichera, Angelo; Klepper, David (12 March 2022). "Russia's bioweapon conspiracy theory finds support in US". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  39. 1 2 Rawnsley, Adam (2022-03-18). "What You Don't Know About Russia's 'Bioweapons' Bullshit". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  40. 1 2 3 Stronski, Paul. "Ex-Soviet Bioweapons Labs Are Fighting COVID-19. Moscow Doesn't Like It". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
  41. ↑ "A US-funded lab in Tbilisi, Georgia fights COVID-19 — and Russian disinformation". Coda Story. March 18, 2020.
  42. ↑ Kessler, Glenn (11 March 2022). "How the right embraced Russian disinformation about 'U.S. bioweapons labs' in Ukraine". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  43. ↑ Palmer, Ewan (2022-03-08). "U.S. biological weapons in Ukraine—separating the facts from the fiction". Newsweek. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  44. ↑ "PolitiFact - There are no US-run biolabs in Ukraine, contrary to social media posts". @politifact. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
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