Secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Friday accused China, Russia, and Iran of carrying out disinformation campaigns related to the coronavirus pandemic, in what is an apparent effort to saw fear and confusion. Chinese authorities maintain that COVID-19 likely originated at a market in Wuhan where people were selling bat meat. But Iranian, Russian, and Chinese propaganda media outlets would like you to believe, without evidence, that the emerging public health crisis comes from U.S. biological weapons.
Disinformation about the coronavirus is spreading as quickly as the outbreak, fueled by Iranian, Russian, and Chinese government-backed campaign blaming and attacking the United States as the source for the source.
A member of China’s foreign ministry has publicly claimed the coronavirus may have started in the United States, while Trump and other officials have repeatedly referred to the “Chinese virus” amid International scrutiny that Beijing sought to cover up the threat of the virus shortly after the outbreak first began.
Altogether, it’s a sign of not just the tensions between the two world powers, but also the growing battle over the information in the 21st century – – with Russian disinformation efforts also spreading conspiracy theories about an alleged U.S. role, according to U.S.officials.
Now, the Trump administration has ramped up its public diplomacy to combat questions about the origin. On two occasions, Pompeo has addressed reporters in part to chastise the Chinese government’s response, calling it slow and marred by censorship.
“It can have deadly consequences. Had China permitted its Own and foreign journalists and medical personnel to speak and investigate freely, Chinese officials and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge,” he said on Feb. 25, prompting calls for an apology and accusations he was” politicizing” the outbreak by China’s Foreign Ministry.
Despite Trump’s more conciliatory tone and praise for Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pompeo doubled down, telling CNBC last Friday, “This is the Wuhan coronavirus that’s caused this, and the information that we got at the front end of this thing wasn’t perfect and has led us now to a place where much of the challenge we face today has put us behind the curve.”
Speaking at the White House, Pompeo described the disinformation campaigns as being “pretty diffused,” saying that the government has seen individuals, as well as the three foreign adversaries, spread false information online.
“It is pretty diffused, unfortunately. But we have certainly seen it come from a place like China, Russia, and Iran,” he said.
