In the information era, a lie can make its way around the world and, in short order, make millions of people sympathetic to an unjustifiable war of aggression.
False claims that Russia has been targeting sinister US-backed “biolabs” in Ukraine were popularized among conspiratorial American audiences by QAnon believers shortly after Russia launched its invasion in late February. Mainstream Republican voices have since dragged the old Russian propaganda at its roots across the forefront of the U.S. political stage.
The Kremlin has for years accused the US of operating a shady network of biolabs in foreign countries conducting dangerous experiments, including some in Ukraine that have allegedly targeted unsuspecting locals. Though the U.S. does support medical and biodefense labs across the former Soviet Union, there is no evidence to support claims that the labs are used to develop bioweapons programs. China has peddled similar propaganda; it tag-teamed with Russia last year to rehash an old accusation that COVID-19 may have been manufactured in U.S.-supported labs—a narrative that has been nurtured by pro-Kremlin sources since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
Kremlin media operations and officials resurfaced these lies as Russia was amassing its troops at Ukraine’s northern border, and again in early March (once the invasion was already underway) after its other justifications failed to stick. Government officials in the U.S. have explicitly denied the accusations.
As...
QUEENSLAND— A nurse in Australia has been formally reprimanded after admitting he submitted forged documents to Qantas (QF) in an attempt to secure a refund for a non-refundable airline ticket. Th...