Outlets affiliated with the Russian government, incuding RT and Sputnik News, published content starting as early as January 2020 that circulated false and misleading narratives about the coronavirus. Laura Cooper, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia, said that by publicizing false information, Russian accounts were “undermining the efforts of governments, of health agencies and of organizations that are in charge of disseminating accurate information about the virus to the public.” Among other false claims, the Russian campaign included stories that suggested U.S. pharmaceutical companies inflated rumors about the virus as part of a plan to increase sales, reports that Eastern European countries’ economies would collapse, reports that Russia would close key trade routes, and has reports that the Baltic states were feuding over quarantine measures.