Does Conspiracy Theory Inform Russian Gate?

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has dismissed claims that the US is developing bioweapons in Ukraine, stating that “globalists” support a covert mass chip implantation under the pretext of mandatory vaccination against coronavirus. CyberBerkut, a hacker group associated with Russian military intelligence, elaborated on Putin’s theory that the US is developing bioweapons in Ukraine. Conspiracy theories and fake news are common themes in Russian media and society, but they are usually directed against Russian interests from abroad.

The SSCI released the fifth and final volume of a report on Russia’s attempt to sway the last election in Donald Trump’s favor. The QAnon conspiracy theory, which emerged in October 2017, is driven by Vladimir Putin’s Russia and has been spread disinformation for two decades. A superseding indictment named five Russian military intelligence officers in a conspiracy to demoralize the Ukrainian people on the eve of the invasion. The first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to a spike in false claims about the war on social media, with some posts gaining millions of engagements.

The Russia counter-narrative, embraced by Donald Trump and Republican Party leaders, suggests an international conspiracy of states using terrorism as an instrument to weaken Russia. President Trump has stopped short of endorsing the conspiracy theory but has described QAnon activists as “heroes”. The coronavirus pandemic has shown that different groups, communities, countries, and civilizations determine the balance between freedom and conflict.

Conspiration theory serves as a solid foundation for the Russian value-political project, with political elites and opposition denying certain facts. Russia’s monkeypox narrative, like its COVID-19 conspiracy theory, builds on a long history of Russian disinformation about U.S. bioweapons.