Spreading Disinformation and Propaganda

HIV

human immunodeficiency virus

AIDS

acquired immune deficiency syndrome

in effect

What really happens or is true, even if it’s not exactly how it’s said.

ignorance

not knowing something or lacking knowledge about a subject.

news outlets

newspapers

What was one of the most successful disinformation campaigns during the Cold War

The Soviet Union’s story that the HIV virus was manmade and created by secret American biological weapon experiments

Was any part of the Soviet story about HIV true

Yes, the USA had tested biological weapons at Fort Detrick in Maryland in the 1950s and 1960s, but the claim that HIV was created in a lab was false.

Why did people believe the Soviet story about HIV

Because HIV was newly discovered, people knew little about it and were scared. The small truth about biological weapon tests confused them.

How did the Soviet disinformation about HIV become widely known

The KGB first planted the story in a small English language newspaper in India, which they funded.

What happened after the story was published in the Indian newspaper

A Soviet publication reprinted it, then a British newspaper picked it up, and finally, it spread to newspapers in over fifty countries.

Why did the KGB use a newspaper in India first to plant the story

To make the story seem more believable and hide the Soviet origin of the fake news.

How does this method of spreading fake news still work today

Fake news is planted in small or less known outlets, then picked up by real news organizations, which spread it unintentionally but effectively