US officials say Russia is spreading virus disinformation

Russian intelligence operatives are using a trio of English-language websites to spread disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, seeking to exploit a crisis that America is struggling to contain ahead of the presidential election in November, US officials said Tuesday.

According to US government officials, Two Russians who have held senior roles in Moscow’s military intelligence service known as the GRU have been identified as responsible for a disinformation effort directed at American and Western audiences.

They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The information had previously been classified, but officials said it had been downgraded so they could more freely discuss it. Officials said they were doing so now to sound the alarm about the particular websites and to expose a connection between the sites and Russian intelligence.

Between late May and early July, one of the officials said, a trio of websites published about 150 articles about the pandemic response, including coverage aimed at propping up Russia and denigrating the US.

Among the headlines that caught the attention of US officials are “Russia’s Counter COVID-19 Aid to America Advances Case for Détente,” which suggested that Russia had given urgent and substantial aid to the US to fight the pandemic, and “Beijing Believes COVID-19 is a Biological Weapon.” The disclosure comes as the spread of disinformation, including by Russia, is an urgent concern heading into November’s presidential election as US officials look to avoid a repeat of the 2016 contest, when Russia launched a covert social media campaign to divide American public opinion to favor then-candidate Donald Trump.

The country’s chief counterintelligence official warned in a public statement Friday about Russia’s continued use of internet trolls to advance their goals.

Even apart from politics, the twin crises buffeting the country and much of the world — the pandemic and race relations and protests — have offered fertile territory for misinformation or outfight falsehoods.

Officials described the disinformation as part of an ongoing and persistent Russian effort to cause confusion. They did not say whether the effort was directly related to the November election, though some of the coverage on the websites appeared to denigrate Trump’s Democratic challenger, Joe Biden.

The stories call to mind Russian efforts from 2016 to exacerbate race relations in America and drive corruption allegations against US political figures.