Media and Digital Disinformation Fellow Bret Schafer joined “The Inoculation” to discuss Russia’s disinformation and mal-information campaign around Western Covid-19 vaccines. Bret, the hosts, and other guests take a look at how the Russian government and its media networks used their power and reach to discredit Covid vaccines made by Western companies and how it boosted its own Sputnik V Covid jab—and how this might backfire. Experts say that attributing anonymous or obfuscated social media profiles is tricky, but they tend to be remarkably consistent and align with the goal of promoting Sputnik V at the expense of Western, but not Chinese, vaccines.
Related reading:
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Influence-enza: How Russia, China, and Iran Have Shaped and Manipulated Coronavirus Vaccine Narratives by Bret Schafer, Amber Frankland, Nathan Kohlenberg and Etienne Soula
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Using the Truth to Tell A Lie: Authoritarian Covid-19 Vaccine Mal-Information Strategies by Jessica Brandt and Bret Schafer
- A World Wide Web of COVID Conspiracies with Bret Schafer