Channel One's Kirill Kleymyonov suggested that the theory of a US role in the outbreak could not be dismissed out of hand
BBC: Coronavirus: Russian media hint at US conspiracy
The coronavirus outbreak in China has provided fertile ground for conspiracy theories and misinformation on the web everywhere, but in Russia they are being spread on primetime news programmes.
Russian TV is also unique in having a consistent overall thrust: that shadowy Western elites and especially the US are somehow ultimately to blame.
One of main national TV networks, Channel One, has even launched a regular slot devoted to coronavirus conspiracy theories on its main evening news programme, Vremya ("Time").
The style of the reporting is ambiguous, appearing to debunk the theories while leaving viewers with the impression that they contain a kernel of truth.
One of the wilder ideas aired by Vremya recently is that the presence of the word "corona", which means crown in both Latin and Russian, in the word coronavirus hints that Donald Trump is somehow involved.
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WNU Editor: Russian media is not the only ones who are spreading these rumours. I have been hearing these same rumours from friends, some websites that I trust, and social media.
