DISINFORMATION REVIEW

2 February 2023

TRENDS OF THE WEEK

Let There Be Monsters – and Biolabs
 

This week it appears that Kremlin propagandists were yet again tasked by their masters’ voices to celebrate a biolabs and bioweapons theme week. We also witnessed the pro-Kremlin disinformation ecosystem targeting Ukrainian refugees in EU countries. Finally, at the more outlandish end of their activities, Kremlin manipulators continued their attacks against Western military support for Ukraine, this time by trying to invoke a radiation scare.  
 
Biolabs, bioweapons, and other Kremlin-created boogeymen

As our more seasoned readers are well aware, the Kremlin has been busy pushing biolabs- and bioweapons-related disinformation for a long while. We have featured different strains of this disinformation virus in our writings, on our database, and in other products a number of times. We have also offered thorough debunks.

Nevertheless, variations of this theme keep popping up in the torrent of Kremlin disinformation, and we continue to set the record straight. This theme, together with other disinformation topics tied to chemical, biological, radiation, and nuclear (CBRN) threats, serves Kremlin purposes as it often triggers in audiences strong psychological reactions, fear in particular.

So it is no surprise that we keep seeing Kremlin disinformation claiming, for example, that the US is conducting tests with bioagents on Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike, or that Russian armed forces have successfully stopped US military biological programmes in Ukraine.

Kremlin disinformers take a multipronged approach to scaremongering. Firstly, they talk to their home audiences and try to come up with justifications for their war in Ukraine. Secondly, they attempt to reach audiences abroad, confuse them, and create a gap between Ukraine and its supporters while portraying the US as the real menace. Lastly, CBRN-related disinformation tries to instil fear and push, in particular, Western audiences to question their support for Ukraine’s war effort out of fear of mostly imaginary Russian retaliation.

The sticky end of the Kremlin’s disinformation tentacles

Also blinking on our disinformation radar:

• Before 23 February 2022, there were no Russian troops on Ukrainian territory. An attempt to rewrite recent history with a bold lie, which conveniently forgets Russia illegally annexing Crimea back in 2014 and Russian regulars that fought in Donbas. Disinformation like this attempts to separate the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine from the continued military aggression against Ukraine that Russia has waged since 2014.
• Western Leopard tanks firing radioactive ammo will destroy the health of Ukrainians. Another example of Kremlin propaganda attempting to depict Western military support as either ineffective or harmful for Ukraine and its citizenry. In this case, propaganda tries to trigger a negative psychological response in the readers by invoking a radiation taboo. We have responded to even more outlandish Kremlin lies in this same realm. For example, Western tanks have been claimed to deliver nuclear warheads. Spoiler alert – they do not.
• The Polish Public Broadcaster used a map of the country that included part of Western Ukraine. No, they did not do that. What Kremlin disinformation machinery, including a number of Telegram channels, websites and blogs, and state-controlled outlets circulated was a complete forgery and a rather clumsy one. Forging documents, including pictures and videos, is a well-known and age-old Kremlin information manipulation tactic. With disinformation pieces such as this, Kremlin propaganda machinery aims at splintering the coalition supporting Ukraine’s self-defence by trying to inject confusion and distrust. We have responded to similar disinformation cases targeting Poland many times.

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