While all eyes are on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, conspiracy theorists pushing Kremlin propaganda online have been spreading falsehoods about Coronavirus for the past two years.
Theorists argue that the battle is a deliberate attempt to divert attention away from French President Emmanuel Macron, who is set to run for re-election next month. Experts say conspiratorialists are continuously looking for ways to target severance by issuing false myths around the world.
The change is evident in some of the most renowned conspiratorialists’ social media handles, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram profiles. Conspiracy theorists include Silvano Trotta of France, Simeon Boikov of Australia, and Sherri Tenpenny of the United States, to name a few.
According to some conspiracy theorists, Ukraine would be the backbone of a pedophile network or house US secret laboratories working on a new global system.
Tristan Mendes, a conspiracy theorist from France, was the one who circulated the reports about the pandemic corona virus, which is now sweeping across Ukraine. There’s nothing to be surprised about; the realm of conspiracies is a hollow shell that holds current events.
The invasion of Ukraine, according to the Kremlin, is a foolproof plan to rescue Russian-speaking people and defend them from Nazi rule.
Opportunism:
Even though the issue changes, the goal of conspiracy theorists remains the same. The names of Bill Gates and George Soros have been emphasized and have become the focus of multiple disinformation posts debunked by AFP fact-checkers.
Both millionaires have been accused of masterminding the corona virus outbreak. Nonetheless, conspiracy theorists now claim that they funded biological weapons in Ukraine.
Some also claim that the war was staged to divert attention away from the development of a new virus, and that Russia intervened to thwart the scheme.
Imran Ahmed, the CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, described them as “opportunists.” According to Ahmed, numerous influential anti-vaxxers who rose to prominence during the pandemic are hoping to profit from the world’s focus on the attack.
Silvano Trotta was unknown before Covid, but thanks to his hoax notions about the fake Ukraine crisis, he now has thousands of followers on Facebook, Telegram, VKontakte (a prominent Russian social network), and Twitter.
About the other hand, Sherry Tenpenny, an American osteopath who has likewise spread false information on Covid, now claims that Jews are orchestrating the Ukraine war to her 160,000 telegraph subscribers.
Russia’s exploitation
The emphasis on conspiracy theories by pro-Russians is not new. Moscow is regarded as one of the forerunners in disinformation dissemination, as evidenced by the fact that in May 2021, when multiple secret agencies communicated influencers to discredit Western vaccines, everyone referred to Russia, despite Moscow’s denials.
It’s impossible to say whether Moscow orchestrated the shift from anti-vax and Covid Skepticism to pro-Russian oratory on Ukraine.
However, Julien Nocetti of the French Institute of International Relations believes that misinformation, whether about Covid or Ukraine, constantly causes unrest in Western countries by disproving them and benefiting Moscow’s interests.
Moscow knows how to take advantage of Covid sceptics and anti-vaccine activists. However, according to Nocetti, Europe and the United States made the mistake of viewing Russian disinformation in a crisis context. The Kremlin, on the other hand, has a different perspective.
Published By – Vanshu Mehra
Edited By – Khushi Thakur
