On Lawfare, Professor Gary Corn observes Russia’s reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak as it relates to national adversaries:
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, the Kremlin seems to be observing the old adage that one should never let a good crisis go to waste. According to several news outlets, the European External Action Service (EEAS), an arm of the European Union, has documented a significant Russian disinformation campaign regarding the novel coronavirus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19. The EEAS report asserts that “[t]he overarching aim of Kremlin disinformation is to aggravate the public health crisis in Western countries, specifically by undermining public trust in national healthcare systems—thus preventing an effective response to the outbreak[.]” And now, the New York Times writes that—in classic copy-cat fashion—China and Iran are following suit.
Of course Russia denies the claims. But the reports are consistent with Russia’s broader and well-documented efforts to sow division in the West and undermine democratic institutions—with one major difference. This time, the Kremlin’s irresponsible actions are directly putting lives in danger. This new and potentially deadly twist on the disinformation problem highlights a lacuna in the international legal order and the need for states to take more affirmative steps to better regulate and counter covert deception campaigns, especially those that put lives at risk.
But it’s not a surprising new twist, really. Disinformation continues to emphasize distrust in the government, which is the end result of the Trump Administration in any case.
BTW, I regard statistics coming out of Russia with a lot of doubt, but here’s the latest from Johns Hopkins COVID-19 dashboard:
4700+ infections, 43 deaths. Their population is generally less dense than ours or China, but they still seem awfully low.
