Fact Check: No, There Are No U.S.-Funded Bioweapons Labs in Ukraine

False claims are going viral on social media.

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Several viral social Facebook posts are falsely claiming that the United States has biological weapon laboratories in Ukraine. Examples of widely shared Facebook posts can be seen here, here, and here.

But the rumor hasn’t just been spreading on Facebook. 

Infowars, a website that promotes conspiracy theories and fake news owned by known conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, published a story on February 24 headlined: “Russian Strikes Targeting US-Run Bio-Labs in Ukraine?” The article highlighted a tweet thread by a now-suspended account, which tweeted about supposed evidence proving that the United States does in fact have “biolabs” in Ukraine. The article highlights a similar tweet, which makes a similar baseless allegation. 

The Infowars story also claimed: “Evidently there are several US bio-labs in Ukraine under the auspices of the US State Department’s Biological Threat Reduction Program, an initiative where the US partners with other countries ‘to counter the threat of outbreaks (deliberate, accidental, or natural) of the world’s most dangerous infectious diseases.’”

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    Ben Connelly

    It’s legitimately disgusting that there are Americans (cough, Tucker) spreading this BS. What a disgrace.

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  5. James Angelichio

    I wish you had published what Victoria Nuland said at the Senate hearing that could have been interpreted as an admission that the US had biological weapons labs in Ukraine. Did she misspeak or did Maddie et al twist her words?

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    Robert Brinkman

    Your commentary is NOT a fact check, it is a comparison of one group opinions vs another group of opinions. Jennifer Griffin and Admiral Kirby are only conveying what have been told. Unless and until a trustworthy third party physically inspects and investigates these labs we won't know the truth.

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      Cogitatio

      If we are only going to trust a "third party" rather than examining aggregate information, then are we not in a trap where we can never trust a fact check? After all, how trustworthy is any individual third party? I can simply dismiss the third party by pointing at any biases or relationships I perceive.
      My point is that a fact check is checking the veracity of the allegations (i.e., whether there is any evidence that they are truthful). Conspiracies tend to follow a rough arc:
      1) make an allegation that has either no substantive support, but is difficult to disprove (the government is hiding an alien spacecraft in Area 51), or where other facts/circumstances can be tied to the conspiracy (think of all the various arguments on why the two towers could not have collapsed the way they did without some sort of demo)
      2) Respond to denials by questioning their veracity and attacking the people and circumstances of the denials
      3) Create a paradigm where the person questioning the conspiracy theory has to actually disprove it (Of course the government is denying it, but do you have any proof?), as opposed to having to prove that the conspiracy is correct.

      With respect, it seems to me that you are asserting that this fact check has to actively disprove the conspiracy, rather than verify whether the conspiracy has a factual basis.

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        Robert Brinkman

        Opinions and statements of facts are not facts.

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          Cogitatio

          Then it is merely an opinion that the US is funding biological warfare labs in Ukraine, and there is really nothing to talk about.
          Would you not agree?

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            Robert Brinkman

            One opinion vs an opposite opinion. No facts in evidence.

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    Bill Nelson

    Well, this should settle everything.
    “ A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”

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  8. Gerald Cuesta

    There is a want by many to believe this crap, nuance and reality be damned, because they are predisposed to wanting some way, any way, to bolster Carlson - and trump - and that ‘the deep state is out to get the real Americans’ mind set. And somewhere in their hearts, this is my belief, maybe I am wrong, they have a soft spot for a Putin type leader. Madison the ugly moron cawthorn is the live action cartoon example. I remember when Obama was still in office and my so called rock robbed conservative friends were demeaning him on a daily basis, while praising Putin as the kind of man America needs to get us back on track. Because… he’s strong! Trump - the vaudeville version of Putin was the closest they could get, so they went with that

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  9. Mark

    This fact check is almost content free and makes me trust your other fact checks less. The story is that the US and Ukraine have (illegal) bioweapons labs in the Ukraine. You say that is false because the US and Ukrainian governments say it it false. These governments obviously would not want anyone to know about the labs if they are there and would have every incentive to lie and claim they are not there but you take their word for it and that's that.

    Nothing unusual about decontaminating old Soviet labs for the past 20 years. Too busy to have gotten it done in 10 or 15 years. The dangerous organisms at the lab which could cause grave risks if the Russians go to them are just ordinary locally grown bacteria and viruses. Then you say that crazy people or crazy web sites believe this so therefore it must be false.

    How are not ashamed to even publish this stuff. It may all be false but you did no work, no independent investigation and are just repeating government talking points.

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    Chris L

    You know this fact check was desperately needed when the comments section brings out all the conspiracists and trolls.

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      Jake

      Too bad it won’t persuade those people.

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