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 The outlets "spread many types of disinformation, including about
both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, as well as international
organizations, military conflicts, protests, and any divisive issue
that they can exploit," the spokeswoman said.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) first reported on the identification
of the alleged campaign on Sunday. A Kremlin spokesman denied the
U.S. claim Russia was spreading false information about vaccines to
the WSJ.
Russia's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
Russia approved its Sputnik V vaccine in August, before a
large-scale trial had begun, saying it was the first country to do
so for a COVID-19 shot. Peer-reviewed trials months later proved it
was almost 92% effective in fighting the virus.
Pfizer, headquartered in New York, and Germany's BioNTech, produced
the first vaccine that was authorized in the United States, which
regulators approved in December. The second, made by Moderna,
headquartered in Massachusetts, was authorized later that month.
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 The State Department's Global
Engagement Center, set up to counter propaganda
and disinformation campaigns, identified the
three outlets, the spokeswoman said.
News Front is controlled by Russia's federal security service, the
center found. New Eastern Outlook and Oriental Review are directed
and controlled by the Russian foreign intelligence service.
A fourth outlet, Rebel Inside, controlled by the Russian army, was
also named by the center but is largely dormant, the spokeswoman
said.
"The Department will continue to expose Russia’s nefarious
activities online," she added. "We will also continue to work
closely with our allies and partners to provide a global response to
countering disinformation."
(Reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Heather Timmons and Lincoln
Feast.)
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