- Russia is creating fake news articles about the COVID-19 pandemic and targeting Americans, US officials told The Associated Press (AP).
- They said Russia’s secret military intelligence unit GRU runs three websites that have produced 150 articles on the pandemic, many critical of the United States’ response.
- Websites InfoRos.ru, Infobrics.org and OneWorld.press have also sparked anti-American sentiment and attacked Democratic candidate Joe Biden, the AP said.
- The revelation adds to fears that there could be a repeat of 2016, when Russia attempted to harm Donald Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton, with a disinformation and piracy campaign.
- Wednesday marks 97 days until the 2020 presidential election.
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The Russian government is creating and proliferating articles in English that spread misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, and targeting them at Americans, US officials told The Associated Press (AP).
Two officials from the secret military intelligence unit GRU are running three websites that have published 150 articles on the pandemic, officials said.
Several articles ridiculed the United States’ response to the outbreak, as well as criticized the alleged Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and the unfounded corruption charges against him.
Some also exacerbated tensions between the US and China over the origins of the coronavirus, as well as internal tensions over the Black Lives Matter movement.
The websites are InfoRos.ru, Infobrics.org and OneWorld.press. Among the headlines that US officials considered suspicious were:
- “Aid from Russia against COVID-19 against the United States advances in the case of Détente”
- “Ukrainian Trap for Biden”
- “Beijing believes that COVID-19 is a biological weapon”
- “Chaos in the blue cities”
The disclosure is significant given that 97 days are Wednesday until the 2020 presidential election.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on July 27, 2020.
Alexei Nikolsky TASS via Getty Images
In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, a Russian government disinformation project used social media bots, fake articles, and Facebook ads to attack Donald Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton.
Russian assets also hacked the websites of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee and attempted to set up meetings with the Trump campaign to discuss secret information that would harm Clinton’s chances.
A subsequent investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia led by Special Adviser Robert Mueller found that Russia launched a “radical and systematic” attempt to influence American voters.
In the past few months, evidence has emerged once again showing that Russia’s propaganda machine is using disinformation to try to influence American politics.
Donald Trump accepts the Republican nomination for President on the last night of the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio on July 21, 2016.
Samuel Corum / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
On February 13, US intelligence officials told Congress that Russia was already meddling in the 2020 campaign by trying to garner support for Trump, according to CNN and The New York Times.
And last Friday, William Evanina, director of the National Center for Counterintelligence and Security, said that “using a variety of efforts, including Internet trolls and other representatives,” Russia continues to spread disinformation in the United States that is designed to undermine confidence in our democratic process. “
The news from the websites is troubling, but US officials said it was unclear whether the websites were specifically trying to influence the November election, the AP said.
