March 18, 2023
AP Report: ‘Pro-Moscow Voices Tried to Steer Ohio Train Disaster Debate’
Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
“Soon after a [Norfolk Southern] train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in Ohio last month, anonymous pro-Russian accounts started spreading misleading claims and anti-American propaganda about it on Twitter, using Elon Musk’s new [Twitter Blue] verification system to expand their reach while creating the illusion of credibility,” Associated Press reporter David Klepper wrote on March 18. “The accounts, which parroted Kremlin talking points on myriad topics, claimed without evidence that authorities in Ohio were lying about the true impact of the chemical spill. The accounts spread fear-mongering posts that preyed on legitimate concerns about pollution and health effects and compared the response to the derailment with America’s support for Ukraine following its invasion by Russia.”
Klepper reported that some of the claims pushed by the pro-Russian accounts “were verifiably false, such as the suggestion that the news media had covered up the disaster or that environmental scientists traveling to the site had been killed in a plane crash. But most were more speculative, seemingly designed to stoke fear or distrust. Examples include unverified maps showing widespread pollution, posts predicting an increase in fatal cancers and others about unconfirmed mass animal die-offs.”
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