Russians push baseless theory blaming US for burst pipeline

Sep 30, 2022, 10:27 AM | Updated: Oct 1, 2022, 5:31 am

The Kremlin and Russian state media are aggressively pushing a baseless conspiracy theory blaming the United States for damage to natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in what analysts said Friday is another effort to split the U.S. and its European allies.

The Russian position is also reverberating on social media forums popular with American conservatives and far-right groups.

NATO leaders believe the damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines between Russia and Germany is the result of sabotage. NATO has refrained from identifying a suspect pending an investigation into the damage.

Russia began blaming the U.S. quickly after the damage was reported Monday night. On Friday, speaking at a ceremony to annex four Ukrainian regions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said “Anglo-Saxons” in the West were behind the “terror attacks” but did not specify any nations.

Pravda and other Russian state outlets reported Thursday that the U.S. operates underwater robots capable of carrying out the acts of sabotage. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman wrote about her suspicions of U.S. involvement in a Telegram post.

“Europe must know the truth!” Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram Wednesday.

President Joe Biden on Friday dismissed Russia’s claims.

“It was a deliberate act of sabotage. And now the Russians are pumping out disinformation and lies,” Biden said. “… When things calm down, we’re going to send the divers down to find out exactly what happened. We don’t know that yet exactly. But just don’t listen to what Putin’s saying. What he’s saying we know is not true.”

The assertions of U.S. responsibility cite Biden’s threat in February to stop the recently completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invaded Ukraine. “If Russia invades … then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2,” Biden said. “We will bring an end to it.”

The two Nord Stream lines were not in operation but were filled with tons of methane that began bubbling to the surface following the damage. Russia recently shut off the Nord Stream 1 pipeline as it ramped up energy pressure on Europe. Nord Stream 2 has never been used.

Fox News’ Tucker Carlson played the Biden clip on his show Tuesday and brought up the possibility that the U.S. was behind the sabotage.

“If they did this, this will be one of the craziest, most destructive things any American administration has ever done, but it would also be totally consistent with what they do,” Carlson said.

Former President Donald Trump also reposted Biden’s remarks on Truth Social along with a call for the U.S. to remain “cool, calm” in its relations with Russia. “Wow. What a statement. World War III anyone?” he wrote.

Contacted for a response, a spokeswoman for Fox News forwarded transcripts from past episodes of Carlson’s show, including one in which he discussed a conspiracy theory about supposed secret bioweapon research in Ukraine.

A spokeswoman for Trump did not immediately respond to a message on Friday.

The suggestion that the U.S. caused the damage was circulating on online forums popular with American conservatives and followers of QAnon, a conspiracy theory movement which asserts that Trump is fighting a battle against a Satanic child-trafficking sect that controls world events.

The claim’s popularity among the American far-right and the speed with which it spread from Russian state media reflect mounting skepticism about America’s role in the war in Ukraine, according to Emma Ashford, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Stimson Center and an expert on security and energy.

“Russia is quite good at capitalizing on these divides, but it doesn’t create them,” she said.

It’s not the first time Russia has spread disinformation seeking to redirect blame for the war and undermine Ukraine’s allies. Earlier this year, Kremlin-controlled media mounted a disinformation operation asserting the U.S. had been running secret bioweapon labs in Ukraine. Carlson helped amplify that theory too.

Networks allied with the Kremlin have also spread frightening tales about Ukrainian refugees, and blamed atrocities committed during the war on Ukrainians.

Seen in that context, the conspiracy theory alleging U.S. responsibility for the pipeline damage is consistent, the researchers concluded.

“The central theme is that this is a “false-flag” operation, an American plot designed to convince Europe that it was a Russian attack intended to signal the vulnerability of Europe’s energy supplies,” the researchers wrote.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of misinformation at https://apnews.com/hub/misinformation.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)...

Associated Press

Donald Trump stored, showed off and refused to return classified documents, indictment says

An indictment charging former President Donald Trump with mishandling classified documents has been unsealed.

1 day ago

FILE - A bottle of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey is displayed next to a Bad Spaniels dog toy in A...

Associated Press

Ruff day in court: Supreme Court sides with Jack Daniel’s in dispute with makers of dog toy

The Supreme Court on Thursday gave whiskey maker Jack Daniel's reason to raise a glass, handing the company a new chance to win a trademark dispute with the makers of the Bad Spaniels dog toy.

2 days ago

(Pixabay Photo)...

Associated Press

6 arrested in alleged scheme to fraudulently collect millions in COVID aid meant for renters

Six people from Washington, Arizona and Texas have been arrested and accused of fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars of COVID-19 aid from an assistance program meant for renters, federal prosecutors said.

2 days ago

FILE - Protesters stand outside of the Senate chamber at the Indiana Statehouse on Feb. 22, 2023, i...

Associated Press

LGBTQ+ Americans are under attack, Human Rights Campaign declares in state of emergency warning

The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. on Tuesday.

4 days ago

FILE - People wait in line outside the Supreme Court in Washington to listen to oral arguments in a...

Associated Press

Supreme Court opened the door to states’ voting restrictions. Now a new ruling could widen them.

Within hours of a U.S. Supreme Court decision dismantling a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, Texas lawmakers announced plans to implement a strict voter ID law that had been blocked by a federal court. Lawmakers in Alabama said they would press forward with a similar law that had been on hold.

4 days ago

Gavel (Pexels Photo)...

Associated Press

Ex-teacher sentenced to prison for making death threat against Arizona legislator

A former Tucson middle school teacher was sentenced Tuesday to 2 ½ years in prison after pleading guilty to making a death threat against Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers.

4 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

How to identify the symptoms of 3 common anxiety disorders

Living with an anxiety disorder can be debilitating and cause significant stress for those who suffer from the condition.

Russians push baseless theory blaming US for burst pipeline