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User:Humanengr/Controversy about US biological research in Ukraine

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remarks re erroneous reporting
accurate reporting


[Annotating article text of 20250225]

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On March 9, 2022, Tucker Carlson, after airing a video of the State Department's Victoria Nuland saying "[W]e are now quite concerned Russian troops ... may be seeking to gain control of [Ukraine's biological research facilities], so we are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces",[1] asked Gabbard "How concerned are you that ... there are unsecured bio agents, dangerous bio agents in Ukraine?" Gabbard responded: "I'm extremely concerned.... The seriousness of this situation really can't be overstated.... We have these pathogens in the midst of a war zone [in] between 20 and 30 labs in Ukraine. This is a global crisis."[2]

On March 13 on Twitter, she reiterated the urgency, stating that these "US-funded labs ... could easily be compromised" and called for "the Biden-Harris Administration ... to work with Russia, Ukraine, NATO, the UN to immediately implement a ceasefire ... in the vicinity of these labs until they're secured and these pathogens are destroyed."[3][4]

Later that day, Forbes reported "Tulsi Gabbard shared false information Sunday about U.S. involvement in Ukraine biological laboratories.... [T]here's no evidence of the U.S. supporting biological labs in Ukraine and the U.S. has consistently denied doing so."[5]

The 1st sentence is wrong: Gabbard shared correct information "about U.S. involvement in Ukraine biological laboratories".
The 2nd sentence is wrong in that there was evidence "of the U.S. supporting biological labs in Ukraine"; and re "the U.S. has consistently denied" "supporting biological labs in Ukraine": on February 24, 2022 Snopes reported "the U.S. Defense Department's Biological Threat Reduction Program provided some funding to upgrade biolabs in the Ukraine"; but 3 days later a USA Today 'fact check' misleadingly reported "The labs are owned and funded by the Ukrainian government". (The labs are owned by the Ukrainian government but they were partly funded by the U.S.)

Shortly thereafter, Mitt Romney tweeted "Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives."[6][7] Rep. Adam Kinzinger accused Gabbard of spreading "actual Russian propaganda. Traitorous."[8] In response to Carlson asking what her response would be to Romney, Gabbard said:

This is about facts.... They're accusing me of saying that somehow there are bioweapons labs in Ukraine. I've said no such thing at any point. I have said that there are biolabs in Ukraine that have received U.S. support that contained dangerous pathogens; that if those labs are breached,... this is a dangerous crisis that needs to be addressed immediately.... The second thing they're saying is they deny ... these biolabs are even there,... when ... officials from our own government — Department of State, Department of Defense, and so on — are saying these biolabs in Ukraine have dangerous pathogens and we're very concerned that they may be breached.[9]

That same day, Gabbard tweeted to Romney, asking him to "provide evidence that what I said is untrue and treasonous.... Evidence of the existence of such biolabs, their vulnerability, and thus the need to take immediate action to secure them is beyond dispute",[10][11] citing Senate testimony by Victoria Nuland,[12] a Pentagon Fact sheet,[13] CBS Face the Nation,[14] a CNN fact-check,[15] and the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, which acknowledged there are U.S. funded labs in Ukraine working with pathogens.[16] (Bioweapons being produced in Ukraine has been debunked as disinformation by multiple media outlets, scientific groups, and international bodies.[20])

On March 14, Whoopi Goldberg on The View accused Gabbard of spreading "false Russian propaganda".[21]

That same day, Newsweek noted that "Gabbard had asserted, accurately, that the U.S. funds bio labs in Ukraine, not bio weapons labs", but that a number of people had criticized Gabbard for, in their view, appearing to echo falsehoods being peddled by Russia. Newsweek also noted her appearance on Carlson's show had been shown on Russian media.[22]

Newsweek reported accurately here, but not later as indicated below.

That evening, Gabbard tweeted she was not convinced there are biological weapons ("bioweapons") in Ukraine, but she was concerned about existence of biological labs in a warzone, noting she had said two days prior that the "biolabs in Ukraine ... if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world". She also noted that "'[b]iolabs', 'bioweapons labs', and 'bioweapons' are 3 very different things. But because these phrases are so similar, there is sometimes miscommunication and misunderstanding when discussing them," and so used the tweet to clarify the distinctions among the terms.[23]

On March 15, Newsweek reported that Gabbard had "clarified her comments about biolabs";

Gabbard wasn't clarifying her comments; she was correcting others' misuse of language.

Newsweek also misquoted her as having said, in her March 9 Tucker Carlson Show appearance, that she was "'deeply concerned' over claims about biological weapons in Ukraine",[24] whereas what she had told Carlson was that she was "extremely concerned" about "dangerous bio agents".[2]

Philip Bump of The Washington Post accused Gabbard of falsely claiming the U.S. was "trying to cover this up" and "generating attention and engagement while she is amplifying this negative and misleading assertion about the U.S. government."[25]

The U.S. was "trying to cover this up" — see above re USA Today fact check.

On August 30, 2024, Dana Milbank wrote in a Washington Post op-ed: "Gabbard endorsed Russian propaganda in falsely claiming the United States was funding biological laboratories in Ukraine that could spread dangerous pathogens."[26]

Gabbard hadn't "endorsed Russian propaganda"; and the U.S. was funding biological laboratories in Ukraine that could spread dangerous pathogens."

After Trump nominated Gabbard for DNI on November 13, 2024, several news organizations reported that, in 2022, Gabbard had accused the US of running bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine;[27][28][29][30] [Politico, Guardian, Atlantic]

Gabbard hadn't accused the US of running bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine.

several others said she had clarified or "walked back" her remarks.[31][32][33][34] [Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Fox News]

She had not clarified or "walked back" her remarks; she was correcting others' misuse of language.

AP reported Gabbard had "endorsed ... [Moscow's claim that] Ukraine was using the labs to create deadly bioweapons."[35]

She had not endorsed any claims re creating 'bioweapons'.

ABC reported Gabbard had "expressed concerns that Ukraine was in possession of biological weapons"[4]

She hadn't expressed concerns re 'biological weapons'; on March 9, she was responding to a question from Carlson about 'dangerous bio agents'; in her March 13 tweet she spoke of 'dangerous pathogens'.

and that she had "posted a video ... about U.S.-funded biolabs [that] 'could easily be compromised' – a debunked theory".[36]

The labs could easily be compromised.

The Washington Post said Gabbard had "come under scrutiny for propagating [the false claim of] alleged presence of 25 or more U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine with the potential to spread deadly pathogens".[37]

It wasn't a false claim: There were 25 or more U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine with the potential to spread deadly pathogens.

Two days prior to Gabbard's hearing before the SSIC, U.S. News & World Report said Gabbard "initially endorsed" the Russian theory that "U.S.-funded laboratories ... were working on deadly viruses that could be used as bioweapons".[38]

She hadn't endorsed anything.

The day prior to the hearing, AP said Gabbard had "echo[ed] similar Russian conspiracy theories"[39]

She hadn't echoed anything.

and The Independent said she "appeared to fall for … conspiracy theories promoted by Russia"

She hadn't "appeared to fall for"; she was accused of echoing.

and "later walked back those remarks".[40]

She never walked back anything.

On February 11, 2025, during Senate consideration of the nomination of Gabbard for DNI, Senator Jack Reed said: "As ... Mitt Romney tweeted [on March 13, 2022], she made ... bogus claims [about a US funded covert biological weapons program in Ukraine];

She had not made any "bogus claims".

Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda.

She had not "parrot[ed]" Russian propaganda.

Her treasonous lies may well cost lives."[41]

To which Gabbard had responded to Romney when he made those accusations in March 2022: "[P]lease provide evidence that what I said is untrue and treasonous. If you cannot, you should do the honorable thing: apologize and resign from the Senate."

Other errors identified in 'generally reliable' sources:

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3/14/2022

Forbes: "she gave credence to a baseless Russian-supported conspiracy about U.S. involvement in biological-weapons laboratories in Ukraine."[42]

Unclear what "she gave credence" means; but Gabbard did not mention 'biological weapons'

The Guardian: "Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has been repeating a piece of Russian misinformation that the US is is [sic] funding biolabs in Ukraine that are “conducting research on dangerous pathogens”. … There is “no evidence” supporting these claims, according to a New York Times factcheck on the issue, but Gabbard has joined Fox News host Tucker Carlson in spreading this theory that is promoted by Russian state media."[43]

The 1st sentence is wrong: The US is funding biolabs in Ukraine that are “conducting research on dangerous pathogens”.
The 2nd sentence misrepresents what the Times said, which was: "Prominent social media users and conservative voices have amplified a baseless theory promoted by Russian state media accusing the United States of funding biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine.")

3/18/2022

The Independent: "Shortly after Ms Nuland’s testimony, former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard posted a two-minute video in which she stated what she said were “the undeniable facts”. “There are 25 to 30 US funded bio labs in Ukraine. According to the US government, these bio labs are conducting research on dangerous pathogens,” she said. “Ukraine is in an active war zone with widespread bombing artillery and shelling and these facilities, even in the best of circumstances could easily be compromised and release these deadly pathogens.” She also said the US was funding labs around the world involved in “dangerous research”.

The Independent, with its prefacing sentence, subtly cast doubt on Gabbard’s accurate claims.

[Others to be appended]

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland Testifies on Ukraine". C-SPAN. 2022-03-07. Archived from the original on 2024-12-21. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  2. ^ a b "Tucker Carlson Tonight". Fox News. 2022-03-09. 16:37. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
  3. ^ @tulsigabbard (March 13, 2022). "There are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world. We must take action now to prevent disaster. US/Russia/Ukraine/NATO/UN/EU must implement a ceasefire now around these labs until they're secured & pathogens destroyed" (Tweet). Retrieved December 13, 2024 – via Twitter. [From tweet video] Here are the undeniable facts. There are 25 to 30 US-funded biolabs in Ukraine. According to the U.S. government, these biolabs are conducting research on dangerous pathogens. Ukraine is an active warzone [that] could easily be compromised.... [T]he Biden-Harris Administration needs to work with Russia, Ukraine, NATO, the UN to immediately implement a ceasefire for all military action in the vicinity of these labs until they're secured and these pathogens are destroyed.
  4. ^ a b c Kingston, Shannon K. (2024-11-21). "Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for top intel role, draws scrutiny over Russia comments". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
  5. ^ Saul, Derek. "Tulsi Gabbard Latest To Push Russian-Backed Conspiracy About U.S.-Backed Biological Labs In Ukraine". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  6. ^ "Mitt Romney". X.com. March 13, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  7. ^ Bowden, John (14 March 2022). "Mitt Romney accuses Tulsi Gabbard of 'treasonous lies' about Russia's invasion". The Independent. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  8. ^ Schnell, Mychael (2022-03-14). "Kinzinger calls out Gabbard for Russian misinformation". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  9. ^ "Tulsi Gabbard responds to Mitt Romney accusation of 'treasonous lies' | Fox News Video". Fox News. 2022-03-14. 00:14. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  10. ^ @TulsiGabbard (March 14, 2022). ".@MittRomney, you have called me a 'treasonous liar' for stating the fact that 'there are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world' and therefore must be secured in order to prevent new pandemics. Bizarrely, ..." (Tweet). Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Garcia, Eric (14 March 2022). "Gabbard to Romney: Provide evidence what I said is untrue and treasonous or resign". The Independent. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  12. ^ "Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland Testifies on Ukraine". C-SPAN. 2022-03-07. Archived from the original on 2024-12-21. Retrieved 2024-12-27. Ukraine has biological research facilities, which, in fact, we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach.
  13. ^ "The Department of Defense's Cooperative Threat Reduction Program – Biological Threat Reduction Program Activities in Ukraine" (PDF). 2022-03-11. The United States,... has [been] supporting 46 Ukrainian laboratories.... Russia illegally took possession of two Ukrainian-owned laboratories that [the U.S.] BTRP upgraded in 2014....
  14. ^ "Face the Nation". CBS News. 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2024-12-27. David Martin said a Pentagon official told him ...: 'The concern is that the Russians will seize one of these biomedical research facilities that Ukraine has where they do research on deadly pathogens ... [that] the US has been providing support for....'
  15. ^ O'Sullivan, Donie (2022-03-10). "Analysis: Russia and QAnon have the same false conspiracy theory about Ukraine". CNN. Retrieved 2024-12-14. There are US-funded biolabs in Ukraine, that much is true.
  16. ^ Kyiv, U. S. Embassy (2020-04-22). "U.S.-Ukraine Partnership to Reduce Biological Threats". U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. Retrieved 2024-12-14. [T]he U.S. Department of Defense's Biological Threat Reduction Program works with the Ukrainian Government to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern in Ukrainian government facilities....
  17. ^ "Ukraine war: Fact-checking Russia's biological weapons claims". BBC News. 15 March 2022.
  18. ^ Wong, Edward (2022-03-11). "U.S. Fights Bioweapons Disinformation Pushed by Russia and China". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  19. ^ Landay, Jonathan; Pamuk, Humeyra; Lewis, Simon (2022-03-11). "U.N. says no evidence to back Russian claim of Ukraine biological weapons program". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  20. ^ [17][18][4][19]
  21. ^ Soave, Robby (2022-03-14). "No, DOJ Shouldn't Investigate Tulsi Gabbard for 'False Russian Propaganda'". Reason. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
  22. ^ Palmer, Ewan (2022-03-14). "Gabbard Labeled a 'Russian Asset' for Pushing U.S. Biolabs in Ukraine Claim". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  23. ^ @tulsigabbard (March 14, 2022). "I'm not convinced there are biological weapons labs or biological weapons in Ukraine—that's not what I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about the existence of the 25+ biological labs in that warzone" (Tweet). Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Twitter. 'Biolabs', 'bioweapons labs', and 'bioweapons' are 3 very different things. But because these phrases are so similar, there is sometimes miscommunication and misunderstanding when discussing them. I recently experienced this myself. So let me clarify. 'Biolabs' are facilities which contain and experiment with dangerous pathogens, ostensibly for the purpose of serving the public good (i.e. vaccines, etc.). 'Biological weapons labs' are facilities which exist for the purpose of turning pathogens into weapons. so they can be used against an enemy (i.e. 'bioweapons').
  24. ^ Palmer, Ewa (2022-03-15). "Tulsi Gabbard Clarifies Ukraine Bio Labs Remarks After Widespread Outrage". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  25. ^ Bump, Philip (2022-03-15). "The often subtle distinction between anti-U.S. and pro-Putin rhetoric". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  26. ^ Milbank, Dana (2024-08-30). "Donald Trump can 'win on character'? C'mon (Op-ed)". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-12-24.
  27. ^ Sakellariadis, John (2024-11-13). "Trump taps dark horse Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence". Politico. Retrieved 2024-12-10. [Gabbard] ... caused an uproar by suggesting Ukraine housed U.S.-funded bioweapons labs.
  28. ^ Aratani, Lauren (2024-11-16). "'A Russian asset': Democrats slam Trump's pick of Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-12-10. Gabbard accused the US of running biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine....
  29. ^ Pengelly, Martin (2024-11-21). "Nikki Haley criticizes Trump cabinet picks Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-12-10. [Gabbard] endorsed a Russian claim ... [about] the existence of US-funded laboratories on Ukrainian soil, supposedly creating bioweapons for use against Russia.
  30. ^ Nichols, Tom (2024-11-14). "Tulsi Gabbard's Nomination Is a National-Security Risk". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-12-10. [Gabbard] repeated Russian propaganda claims that the U.S. has set up secret bioweapons labs....
  31. ^ Strobel, Warren P. (2024-11-14). "Tulsi Gabbard Questioned U.S. Intelligence. Now She Is Trump's Pick for Top Intelligence Role". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2024-12-24. [Gabbard] echoed a Kremlin claim that Ukraine hosted U.S.-funded labs researching dangerous pathogens. She later clarified her remarks.
  32. ^ De Luce, Dan (2024-11-14). "Trump's pick for top intel job has been accused of 'traitorous' parroting of Russian propaganda". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-12-24. Gabbard ... sought to clarify her social media post....
  33. ^ De Luce, Dan; Jester, Julia (2024-11-16). "Would Tulsi Gabbard bring a pro-Russian bias to intelligence reporting?". Contributions by Abigail Williams and Andrea Mitchell. NBC News. Retrieved 2024-12-24. Gabbard later sought to 'clarify' her statements....
  34. ^ "Tulsi Gabbard's nomination to lead US intelligence raises scrutiny over past Russia comments". Fox News. 2024-11-18. Retrieved 2025-01-24. [Gabbard] later clarified that she wasn't accusing the U.S. or Ukraine of wrongdoing....
  35. ^ Klepper, David; Knickmeyer, Ellen; Lederer, M. (2024-11-17). "Gabbard's sympathetic views toward Russia cause alarm as Trump's pick to lead intelligence services". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  36. ^ Bruggeman, Lucien (2024-12-05). "Tulsi Gabbard's views on Russia shaped in part by Kremlin propaganda outlet, ex-aides say". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
  37. ^ "Gabbard, Trump Intel pick who visited Assad, meets with senators after dictator's fall". The Washington Post. December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  38. ^ Mathur-Ashton, Aneeta (2025-01-28). "Tulsi Gabbard Faces a Skeptical Senate". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  39. ^ Klepper, David (2025-01-29). "Tulsi Gabbard's views on Russia, Syria, Trump and government surveillance — in her own words". Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-01-29.
  40. ^ Hall, Richard; Feinberg, Andrew (2025-01-29). "Tulsi Gabbard's history with Russia is even more concerning than you think". The Independent. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
  41. ^ Forbes Breaking News (2025-02-11). 'Consistently Demonstrated Poor Judgement': Jack Reed Drops The Hammer On DNI Nominee Tulsi Gabbard. Retrieved 2025-02-11 – via YouTube.
  42. ^ Everson, Zach. "Tulsi Gabbard's Biggest Political Donor In 2021 Is A Putin Apologist". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  43. ^ Ho, Vivian (2022-03-14). "White House warns of 'significant consequences' if China aids Russia – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
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