U.S. officials recently revealed that Russian intelligence agencies began a campaign to break down the confidence in Pfizer’s vaccine along with other companies’ vaccines from the West. The officials noted the questioning of the vaccine’s effectiveness came in the form of using publications online.
According to reports, an official with the State Department’s Global Engagement Center—whose purpose is to monitor foreign disinformation efforts, noted that four publications were identified as fronts for Russian intelligence, and the publications took aim at the vaccines’ overall effect.
The websites referenced by U.S. officials found them calling out the risky side effects and noted that the United States alleged rushed through the Pfizer PPE vaccine, as well as rushed through the approval process.
An official for the Global Engagement Center said, “We can say these outlets are directly linked to Russian intelligence services. They’re all foreign-owned, based outside of the United States. They vary a lot in their reach, their tone, their audience, but they’re all part of the Russian propaganda and disinformation ecosystem.”
Source: WSJ
