DISINFO: No proof of Russian involvement in US elections, Salisbury poisoning
SUMMARY
UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt recently stated that that Russia runs a global campaign of cyber warfare to target foreign governments. It is only the latest in a long string of unsubstantiated allegations which Western officials have made against Moscow. These include the Kremlin’s supposed election interference in the US and elsewhere, as well as a leading role in the Skripal poisoning. But now this “Russia Gate” has collapsed, thanks to the Mueller report, which found no conclusive proof of Russian interference. No evidence has been presented to support either of these claims.
RESPONSE
The article advances recurring pro-Kremlin narratives denying any Russian role in Western election meddling or the Skripal poisoning. Any accusations made against the Kremlin, however well-founded, are invariably met with knee-jerk charges of Russophobia. Russia has a documented track record of interfering in Western elections -- see our list of reports and analyses on the subject here. The claim that the US Special Counsel investigation found no conclusive proof of Russian interference is false. The fact of Moscow's meddling was already established prior to the publication of the Mueller report. The report itself concurs with this assessment, stating that "[t]he Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion" (p. 1). See our debunking of the "no interference" narrative here. The Skripal poisoning was followed by one of the largest Russian disinformation campaigns to date, with more than 100 contradictory narratives promulgated within two weeks of the incident by pro-Kremlin outlets (pp. 36-38). Russia's role in the poisoning has been extensively documented by law enforcement, open source analysis, and media investigations. See our recent debunking of Moscow's denials here.