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| Russian intelligence wants to undermine people's confidence in the Corona vaccine |
US officials said that Russian intelligence agencies have used the online posts to launch a campaign to undermine people's confidence in Pfizer and other Western vaccines against the Coronavirus. In the past few months, online publications have suggested vaccine development and safety. A question.
The Wall Street Journal quoted officials from the State Council’s Global Engagement Center monitoring reports of foreign disinformation. According to the report, four online publications linked to Russian intelligence agencies published false or misleading information about the Coronavirus vaccine.
These sites reduced the risk of side effects of the vaccine, questioned its effectiveness, and said: The United States is committed to using the Pfizer vaccine as part of the regulatory process and other false or misleading claims.
These sites have been identified as New Oriental Outlook, Eastern Review, News Frontier, and Inside the Rebels, confirming the side effects of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine as well as vaccines from other Western pharmaceutical companies. US approval process.
These sites do not have a large number of followers, but US officials say that these sites broadcast fake stories, and Russian and international media can expand these stories.
These sites usually focus on actual coverage of the rare side effects of a vaccine, but do not provide a specific background on how safe vaccines are for most people.
A State Department spokesman told the Wall Street Journal: Russian intelligence agencies are directly responsible for using these four platforms to spread propaganda and lies.
In addition to boosting the credibility of Western vaccines, Russian state media and Russian government Twitter accounts are also trying to improve the image of the Russian vaccine against Sputnik V.
Russia announced in November that the effectiveness of the Sputnik V vaccine had reached 90%. However, critics said that clinical trials for this vaccine are too few for patients.
However, the British medical journal The Lancet reported last month that extensive testing had shown Sputnik V to be safe with an effective rate of 91%.
According to the Associated Press, only 4 million people were vaccinated in Russia at the end of February, which is about 3% of the total population.
Officials from the Global Engagement Center spoke about the location behind the fake propaganda: It can be said that these intelligence agencies are directly linked to Russian intelligence agencies. All are foreign-owned and have offices outside the United States. The difference between them is huge. Their influence and audience, but they are all part of the Russian information and propaganda system.