View this post on Instagram Don't think this disinformation matters? Coronavirus propaganda fits into classic Soviet-era propaganda strategies, dating back to the Cold War. In 1983, a pro-Soviet Indian newspaper, the Patriot, first published an article to the effect that the AIDS virus was a biological weapon created by the U.S. military. After circulating for several years in KGB-controlled publications, the slander was picked up in 1985 by the Soviet cultural newspaper Literaturnaya Gazeta (Literary Gazette), opening the propaganda floodgates. In 1987 alone, it was reprinted or broadcast in more than 80 countries in 30 languages. The story was highly damaging to the U.S. international image. Similar damage is entirely possible today if coronavirus disinformation stands unchallenged. During the Cold War, the Reagan administration created the Active Measures Working Group to expose Soviet propaganda. Today, the U.S. government will have to be equally deliberate in its efforts to fight not just the spread of the virus itself, but also the conspiracy theories spread by foreign actors.A post shared by The Daily Signal (@thedailysignal) on Mar 10, 2020 at 3:17pm PDT
Don't think this disinformation matters? Coronavirus propaganda fits into classic Soviet-era propaganda strategies, dating back to the Cold War. In 1983, a pro-Soviet Indian newspaper, the Patriot, first published an article to the effect that the AIDS virus was a biological weapon created by the U.S. military. After circulating for several years in KGB-controlled publications, the slander was picked up in 1985 by the Soviet cultural newspaper Literaturnaya Gazeta (Literary Gazette), opening the propaganda floodgates. In 1987 alone, it was reprinted or broadcast in more than 80 countries in 30 languages. The story was highly damaging to the U.S. international image. Similar damage is entirely possible today if coronavirus disinformation stands unchallenged. During the Cold War, the Reagan administration created the Active Measures Working Group to expose Soviet propaganda. Today, the U.S. government will have to be equally deliberate in its efforts to fight not just the spread of the virus itself, but also the conspiracy theories spread by foreign actors.
A post shared by The Daily Signal (@thedailysignal) on Mar 10, 2020 at 3:17pm PDT
