DISINFO: The US spreads propaganda about 5G and vaccines
SUMMARY
China owns 5G technology, and the United States does not. For this reason, the US has an interest in turning people against 5G through propaganda about the harmful effects of 5G. On the other hand, vaccines ensure that biological weapons containing a range of deadly diseases cannot be used effectively against a population. With dozens of biological laboratories encircling Russia, the United States clearly has an interest in spreading the anti-vaxxer movement.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin conspiracy narrative about propaganda from the United States about technology and vaccines. The claim that a country owns or does not own 5G is misleading and simplistic. Huawei, a Chinese company, is a global leader in 5G networking equipment. Due to the national security risks allegedly associated with 5G technology, the US has devised the National Strategy to Secure 5G which outlines a plan for the “development, deployment, and management of secure and reliable 5G communications infrastructure worldwide.” In order to evade the technological dependence on Huawei 5G technology, the White House has suggested that the US companies Microsoft, Dell and AT&T, together with Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia, will be involved in the development of the 5G infrastructure in the US. The claim that the United States is manufacturing infectious diseases and other biological weapons is unfounded. The narrative about US-funded Biolabs in countries neighbouring Russia which artificially spread diseases in these areas is a Kremlin-led disinformation campaign which has been repeatedly debunked. Misinformation about the harmful effects of 5G is being spread by a multitude of actors. The conspiracy theory about 5G’s relation to the coronavirus gained a lot of publicity after an interview with well-known British conspiracy theorist David Icke. However, 5G misinformation has also been distributed by celebrities, influencers, and politicians with a large following. Similarly, misinformation about vaccines is spread by a multitude of private actors including celebrities and influencers. In both cases, however, Russian disinformation features prominently. For example, Russian Twitters bots were found to amplify anti-vaccine messages on the platform and Russian state-linked media outlets cause alarm for the “5G apocalypse”.