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US Pushes Back Against Russian, Chinese, Iranian Coronavirus Disinformation

Nike Ching

   STATE DEPARTMENT / PENTAGON - Top U.S. adversaries appear to be coming
   together, using social media and other cyber means to amplify
   disinformation regarding the coronavirus, with the intent of harming
   the United States and hindering efforts to curb the global pandemic.
   The accusation, from senior State Department officials, focuses on
   efforts by Russia, China and Iran. No longer content to simply pump out
   their own false narratives, the three countries have now formed a sort
   of axis of disinformation, officials say, by echoing and magnifying
   each other's information operations.
   "We're seeing Russian, Chinese and Iranian state information operations
   converging around the same disinformation narrative about COVID-19,"
   Lea Gabrielle, head of the State Department's Global Engagement Center
   (GEC), told reporters in a telephone briefing Friday.
   "We're also seeing Russia's [disinformation] ecosystem promoting
   narratives advanced by China and Iran," she said.

   On the rise
   U.S. officials declined to say whether the virtual collaboration was
   intentional or just opportunistic. But officials, including those in
   the Pentagon and in the U.S. intelligence community, have previously
   accused each of the countries of ramping up disinformation operations.
   "The COVID-19 crisis has really provided an opportunity for malign
   actors to exploit the information space for harmful purposes and really
   been providing unnecessary distraction from the global community's
   focus on this crisis," Gabrielle said.
   According to U.S. and European officials, the bulk of the
   disinformation has focused on blaming the U.S. or the West for the
   coronavirus outbreak or on the West's alleged inability to cope with
   the crisis.
   European officials say Russian-linked cyber actors have been especially
   active, trying to trick people into believing the pandemic is a hoax or
   persuade them to try bogus cures.
   U.S. officials have also voiced growing concern that the coronavirus
   pandemic has emboldened China, which is using social media to launch
   blunt attacks on official social media accounts.

     More evidence suggests that the virus was not originated at the
     seafood market in Wuhan at all, not to mention the so called "made
     in China". [1]https://t.co/8cRxkSZB3z
     -- Chinese Embassy in South Africa (@ChineseEmbSA) [2]March 16, 2020

   In Iran, senior officials have also echoed false allegations that the
   U.S. has weaponized the coronavirus.

   All three countries have pushed back, rejecting the U.S. and European
   allegations.

   China, in particular, has accused the U.S. of using language to
   stigmatize China and discredit its efforts to combat the coronavirus
   pandemic.
   

References

   Visible links
   1. https://t.co/8cRxkSZB3z
   2. https://twitter.com/ChineseEmbSA/status/1239453193689587712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

   Hidden links:
   3. file://localhost/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/china-rebukes-pompeo-wuhan-virus-comment

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