Social media platforms tread carefully when it comes to the Russian government
CNN
As its troops have gotten bogged down in Ukraine, the Russian government has been fueling a conspiracy theory on social media about the purpose of US-funded biolabs in Ukraine.
In posts spread across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube viewed by CNN this week, Russia's foreign and defense ministries have repeated claims that Ukraine had been researching biological weapons — an assertion that's previously been rejected as false by the United States, its allies and a top United Nations disarmament official.
In fact, the US-supported labs are part of a program to develop vaccines and perform peaceful research, the United States has said, while White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has described the Russian claim as "propaganda" and a potential pretext for Russia to deploy chemical or biological weapons itself in Ukraine.
