Four sites linked to Russian intelligence agencies have been spreading false or misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an official at the U.S. State Department's Global Cooperation Center . The sites allegedly spreading fake news are named New Eastern Outlook, Oriental Review, News Front and Rebel Inside .
These Russian sites have highlighted the side effects of the vaccine developed by Pfizer for COVID-19, as well as vaccines developed by other Western pharmaceutical companies, raising concerns about whether the vaccines are effective or whether their approval was too quick and rushed.
According to “The Verge,” the sites in question do not have a large audience, but officials said their fake news is often picked up and published by international media outlets. They usually focus on real news about rare vaccine side effects, but do not provide accurate context showing that vaccines are safe for most people. A spokesperson for the US Department of State (DoJ) told the Wall Street Journal: “Russian intelligence agencies bear direct responsibility for the use of these four platforms to spread propaganda and lies.”
In addition to the campaign discrediting Western vaccine companies, Russian state media, as well as Twitter accounts affiliated with the Russian government, are trying to boost the profile of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V.However, a Kremlin spokesman denied the Wall Street Journal's allegations.
Russia November that its Sputnik V vaccine was 90% effective, but critics said clinical trials of the vaccine on patients were too small. In addition, the British medical journal “The Lancet” reported last month that larger-scale trials found that Sputnik V was safe and had a 91% effectiveness rate. According to the Associated Press, as of late February, only 4 million people in Russia — about 3% of the population — had been vaccinated.
