Iran, Along with China and Russia, Has Engaged in Spreading Misinformation About COVID-19 Origins

According to a new report prepared by the Global Engagement Center of the U.S. State Department and reviewed by Politico, Iran has exploited the coronavirus crisis to launch disinformation campaigns and spread false information against the United States, while maintaining close coordination with China and Russia.

The report, which has not been publicly released, shows several examples of coordinated efforts by Iran, China, and Russia to disseminate misinformation. One of these efforts involves false claims by state media in these countries that the coronavirus was an American biological weapon. In one instance, Lijian Zhao, spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry, tweeted an article containing this false claim that had been published in Chinese media. In another case, “Russia Today” referenced a similar claim made by Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Lea Gabriel, coordinator of the Global Engagement Center of the U.S. State Department, told Politico: “What we have witnessed since the beginning of controlling this health crisis in China is that the Chinese Communist Party really launched and continued a coordinated effort to change the narrative of events.”

Ms. Gabriel added: “[Chinese Communist Party misinformation] started from allowing Russian misinformation to be published on Chinese social media claiming that the source of the virus spread was America [and] reached a point where state media questioned the origin of the virus and even spread false information claiming that the United States was the source of this virus.”

According to Politico, analysts outside the U.S. government have also observed the same process that the U.S. State Department has pointed out.

Camille Francois, head of innovation at the Graphika analysis network, told Politico: “We have witnessed convergence of narratives related to COVID-19 in both public diplomacy campaigns and covert campaigns originating from Iran, China, and Russia, particularly in terms of blaming the United States for its response to this crisis and its current role in geopolitical affairs.”

Source: Voice of America