China played leading role in spreading Covid-19 conspiracies: Investigation
Sun Online Desk
17th February, 2021 09:03:31
According to a new investigation, China took the lead in spreading foreign disinformation about Covid-19’s origins.
Among other powerful countries in the world, it was Beijing which used its stature and propaganda machines in churning out conspiracies about the coronavirus originating from other countries, a nine-month investigation by Associated Press said.
Powerful forces, from Beijing and Washington to Moscow and Tehran, have battled to control the narrative about where the virus came from.
Leading officials and allied media in all four countries functioned as super-spreaders of disinformation, using their stature to sow doubt and amplify politically expedient conspiracies already in circulation, the investigation conducted in collaboration with the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab found.
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Welcome to the latest edition of Investigative Roundup, highlighting some of the best investigative reporting on healthcare each week.
World Leaders Fanned Flames of COVID Misinformation
Leaders of many nations deliberately spread misinformation about the origin and spread of SARS-CoV-2, deflecting blame onto rivals in a geopolitical game of gossip-mongering, according to a joint investigation conducted by the
Associated Press and the Atlantic Council s Digital Forensic Research Lab.
Leaders from China, Iran, Russia, and the U.S. led or permitted misinformation campaigns, tacitly hinted at their veracity, and ignored misinformation when they had opportunities to stop its spread, the investigation found.
The U.S. new cases 7-day rolling average are 22.7 % LOWER than the 7-day rolling average one week ago. U.S. hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are now 14.4 %
LOWER than the rolling average one week ago. U.S. deaths due to coronavirus are now 1.2 %
LOWER than the rolling average one week ago. Today s posts include:
U.S. Coronavirus New Cases are 64,938 [lowest number since early October]
U.S. Coronavirus hospitalizations are at 69,283
U.S. Coronavirus deaths are at 1,088
U.S. Coronavirus immunizations have been administered to 15.8 % of the population
The 7-day rolling average rate of growth of the pandemic shows new cases improved, hospitalizations improved, and deaths worsened
Anatomy of a conspiracy: With COVID disinformation, China took a leading role
An Associated Press investigation, conducted in collaboration with the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, found that powerful political figures and allied media in China, the U.S., Russia and Iran flooded the globe with disinformation about the origins of the COVID pandemic.
By ERIKA KINETZAssociated Press
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Clockwise from left: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; Russian President Vladimir Putin; former U.S. President Trump; and Chinese President Xi Jinping. AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin
BRUSSELS The rumors began almost as soon as the disease itself. Claims that a foreign adversary had unleashed a bioweapon emerged at the fringes of Chinese social media the same day China first reported the outbreak of a mysterious virus.