A disinformation and digital authoritarianism researcher says U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Fox News propagandist Tucker Carlson, and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard are the "most influential" in spreading anti-Ukraine disinformation and misinformation.
Marc Owen Jones, an assistant professor of Middle East studies and digital humanities at Hamad bin Khalifa University, posted a graphic representation of different types of tweets about Ukraine and "biolabs," the latest right-wing and Russia conspiracy theory.
2/ See clusters 1, 2 & 3. Cluster 1 is mostly people criticising the biolabs conspiracy, or the absurdity of it. Cluster 2 are generally those that can be considered active in the spread of propaganda or misinformation. Cluster 3 is a French NWO type spreading Russian propaganda pic.twitter.com/VVschFqaGQ
— Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) March 16, 2022
Jones, who is also an honorary research fellow at Exeter University, has written about disinformation on social media for The Washington Post. He says that Greene, Carlson, and Gabbard are all "involved in some form of manipulation or propaganda."
6/ is denying there are biolabs, so presumably we are all traitors Tucker? Then there is Tulsi Gabbard, who likes talking about biolabs, and who once parroted Kremlin denial propaganda about use of chemical weapons in Syria. See more from @EliotHiggins https://t.co/VsgnjWTldj pic.twitter.com/d7arECgn9A
— Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) March 16, 2022
He says that former Congresswoman Gabbard "likes talking about biolabs," and "once parroted Kremlin denial propaganda about use of chemical weapons in Syria."
Jones describes Gabbard's particular disinformation as "insidious."
7/ As @RVAwonk stated, Gabbard's disinformation is insidious, and attempts to invoke a parity of responsibility when Russia is the clear aggress > #ukraine pic.twitter.com/ZzqWGJAuxW
— Marc Owen Jones (@marcowenjones) March 16, 2022
"An important thing to remember is this," Jones sums up. "It's not about believing disinformation that's important. The fact so many are expending media resources to talking about this as opposed to, say, covering the invasion, is a massive distraction that benefits Putin."
"If the Kremlin," he continues, "can shift the news agenda, at least in part, to talking about something else, especially if that thing can be used as a stick to beat the current administration with by the opposition, Ukraine does not benefit."
