Do you remember the biolab conspiracy theory in Ukraine? In 2022, Wikipedia explained that:
The Ukraine biolabs conspiracy theory emerged in March 2022 during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when Russian officials claimed without evidence that public health facilities in Ukraine were “secret U.S.-funded biolabs” purportedly developing biological weapons, which was debunked as disinformation by multiple media outlets, scientific groups, and international bodies. The claim was amplified by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chinese state media.The claim was also promoted by QAnon and gained support among far-right groups in the U.S.
A few days ago, the US authorities issued the following statement:
After months of searching through Intelligence Community holdings and files, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard is revealing new evidence of longstanding United States government funding for more than 120 biolabs in over 30 countries. These biolabs include labs in Ukraine, which may be at risk of compromise due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. For example, the Intelligence Community previously warned that a US-funded biolab in Ukraine likely housed dangerous pathogens and remained vulnerable to longstanding threats of Russian attack, seizure, or damage.
We still do not know exactly what was going on in these laboratories, why they were located outside the US and in places such as Ukraine, what dangerous substances were present there, and whether they can be classified as biological weapons. And whether it is even possible to make such a distinction, given that all manner of dangerous substances could, in principle, be used as weapons by a sufficiently ruthless actor.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, is spreading outright lies and distorted information here, which favours one side in an ongoing conflict. Over time, they have also changed the name of the article page from ‘biolab conspiracy’ to ‘bioweapon conspiracy’. One might imagine that Wikipedia is being used as a propaganda tool by the parties involved, and now that the truth is likely to come out anyway, they are changing their tune and issuing a press release stating that the biolabs do, after all, exist.
This is not the first time something like this has happened; several so-called conspiracy theories turn out to be true, such as the CIA’s Project MKUltra, Operation Northwoods, Hunter Biden’s laptop and others.
Why issue this admission right now? That’s a good question; many would guess it’s down to an impending Russian victory in the war in Ukraine, and that the Russians are going to find the labs – or have already found them – with the risk that the information will be leaked. The EU’s censorship of the Russian news channel RT (Russia Today) is certainly not going to last forever. Perhaps we are simply approaching a new phase in the conflict where one side feels it is time to lay their cards on the table.
Yet this is not the sort of news that makes the rounds in the mainstream media; it is not the sort of thing that captures people’s interest, causes outrage or sparks debate. Even though people really ought to be asking themselves why a superpower is building vast numbers of secret biolabs abroad, and when these are exposed, denies the allegations, smears and casts suspicion on those who sound the alarm.
