WASHINGTON, August 13. /TASS/. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has claimed that the media outlets allegedly linked to the Russian, Chinese or Iranian governments deliberately step up conspiracy theories concerning the novel coronavirus and vaccines against it, according to a new National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin posted on the DHS site on Friday.
The bulletin was issued regarding "the current heightened threat environment" in the United States.
"Nation-state adversaries have increased efforts to sow discord," it says. "For example, Russian, Chinese and Iranian government-linked media outlets have repeatedly amplified conspiracy theories concerning the origins of COVID-19 and effectiveness of vaccines; in some cases, amplifying calls for violence targeting persons of Asian descent," the DHS claims.
The bulletin does not provide any evidence for this version.
Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was not involved in any information campaigns against foreign coronavirus vaccines. As Peskov emphasized, any such allegations are absolutely absurd.