Russian intelligence agencies have shared false and misleading information to undermine confidence in COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and other drug manufacturers, a report said on Sunday.
Four online publications spreading misinformation about vaccines have been linked to Russian intelligence services, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The report, citing an unnamed U.S. official at the State Department’s Global Employment Center, said the sites did not have a large audience, but their false narratives could be picked up by other international media.
The sites – identified as New Eastern Outlook, Oriental Review, News Front and Rebel Inside – highlight the risk of vaccine side effects, question their effectiveness and say the process has been rushed to approve the Pfizer vaccine, the newspaper reported.
“We can say that these contact points are directly related to the Russian intelligence services,” the Global Engagement Center official said. “All of them are foreign-owned, based outside the United States. They vary a lot in terms of coverage, tone, audience, but they are all part of the Russian propaganda and misinformation ecosystem. “
In addition to the campaign to undermine Western vaccines, Russian state media and government Twitter accounts have heightened concerns about the costs and safety of the Pfizer vaccine, the newspaper reported.
Experts said the effort could be an attempt to promote the sale of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, the press reported.
A Kremlin spokesman denied the allegations.
“It simply came to our notice then. Russia’s special services have nothing to do with any criticism of vaccines, “Dmitry Peskov told the newspaper.
“If we treat every negative publication against the Sputnik V vaccine as a result of the efforts of the American special services, then we will go crazy because we see it every day, every hour and in every Anglo-Saxon media.”