The United States (US) has identified three Russian news agencies that allegedly 'tarnished' the US-made Covid-19 vaccine, namely Pfizer and Moderna.
According to a U.S. State Department spokesman yesterday, all the news agencies involved received instructions from the Russian intelligence department.
According to the spokesman, the three agencies disseminated a lot of false information other than Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, including related to international organizations, military conflicts, protests and any issues that can be exploited by them.
The spokesman added that the State Department's Global Engagement Center, set up to oppose the propaganda and false information campaign, had identified the news agency.
The identities of the news agencies are News Front, New Eastern Outlook and Oriental Review. News Front is controlled by Russian security agencies while New Eastern Outlook and Oriental Review are controlled by the Kremlin’s external intelligence department.
"The State Department will continue to expose Russian online malicious activities. We will continue to work with allies and partners to provide a global response to combat the spread of false information, ”the spokesperson said.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) first reported on the Kremlin’s actions yesterday.
A Kremlin spokesman however denied Russian allegations of spreading false information about the vaccine reported by the WSJ.
Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in Washington has also not commented so far.
