Anti-vax Twitter accounts pushing food crisis misinformation, study finds

The research by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), found that conspiracy theorist social media accounts started pushing the idea that western countries are responsible for the interruption of wheat, barley and maize exports from Ukraine.

The NCRI, in conjunction with Rutgers Miller Center for community protection and resilience, conducted an open-source analysis of known Russian disinformation websites and spokespeople, and analyzed the use of terms around food security, mandates, and Russian-amplified conspiracies on Twitter and Telegram.

The organizations found that Russian state media and proxy media had also pushed the Kremlin line that the west is to blame. This week Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has been on a tour of Africa, attempting to rally support.

On 23 July, Russia signed a deal with Ukraine to allow grain exports, only to bomb the vital port of Odesa hours later.

Reuters, citing UN data, reported that Eritrea, Armenia, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Somalia, Belarus, Turkey, Madagascar, Lebanon, Egypt and Pakistan depended on Russia or Ukraine for more than 70% of their wheat imports in 2021.