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Russian internet troll factories have been blamed for an anti-Pfizer Covid jab smear campaign by a new report from a research institute.
The Network Contagion Research Institute's paper says the aim of the misinformation drive is to promote the country's own Sputnik V vaccine.
Tactics used by the smear campaign include releasing and promoting negative coverage of Pfizer and targeting specific countries.
The report says one unusual approach saw marketing firms from Russia directly go to popular figures to try and get them to act on their Facebook and Instagram platforms.
It alleges: 'Russian marketing firms have directly approached social-media influencers in France.
'Offering financial compensation for promoting fraudulent, allegedly “leaked” stories about Pfizer vaccine complications.'
People wait to receive doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus disease
The Pfizer vaccine has been particularly targeted by the misinformation campaign
The report says that troll factories have targeted countries that are potential Sputnik markets
The report claims that the Russian have also zeroed in on spreading the messages in Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Canada.
This is due to them believing those countries are seen as potential export markets for Sputnik.
NCRI's paper continues: 'In a Council on Foreign Relations blog post, members of Novetta, a disinformation tracking firm, revealed that in the Fall of 2020, well before vaccine makers had released any data to confirm vaccine effectiveness, public opinion of Sputnik V in Africa was suspiciously high.
President Putin told Russians that the time last month come when he would name his possible successor in the Kremlin, but said the choice would ultimately lie with voters
