Exclusive: Mike Pompeo Won't Rule Out Sinister and Coordinated Disinformation Campaign on Coronavirus
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In an exclusive interview with CBN News, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would not completely rule out that the disinformation campaign coming from China, Russia and Iran about how the coronavirus started is a coordinated effort. "It's hard to know the answer to that," Pompeo tells CBN News. "But you can say they're observing what the others are doing and then they're responding in a group." When pushed further and asked directly whether this was a coordinated effort, Pompeo says, "We see very similar messages propagated by very similar means. It's difficult to know the level of coordination."
The full transcript of Secretary Pompeo's answer is below. You can watch a full report on Friday's 700 Club where the Secretary of State discusses the disinformation campaign on the virus coming from China, Russia and Iran. He also weighs in on the failures of the World Health Organization and the latest on Iran's provocative moves in the Persian Gulf region.
Transcript:
David Brody: "You have emphatically stated about China, Iran and Russia that they're using this coronavirus crisis to launch a propaganda and disinformation onslaught against the United States. Do you believe they are in cahoots with one another on this? In other words, is this a coordinated effort by those countries?"
Secretary Pompeo: "Boy, it's hard to know the answer to that, but you can say they're observing what the others are doing and then they're responding in a group. That is, they're taking information being provided by one and others are promoting it online and elsewhere. This information, David, this disinformation campaign matters. The American people, people all across the world go to sources to get information, information for their safety, information for their health and that of their family members. It is nasty when the government runs a disinformation campaign that puts those people's lives at risk and their health at risk. We've done our best here in the United States and frankly we've had other countries around the world call out this, 'fake news,' this disinformation. It is disingenuous. It is dangerous and these governments need to stop and they need to stop doing it in a coordinated way as well, if that's what's actually taking place."
David Brody: "So you're not necessarily discounting the fact that it could be a coordinated effort. You say more investigation is needed on this then."
Secretary Pompeo: "We see very similar messages propagated by very similar means. It's difficult to know the level of coordination."
HEAR MORE reports from David Brody at his podcast: The Pod's Honest Truth
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