Media

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin Sets Hannity Straight on Russian Propaganda

FACT-CHECK

The network’s national security correspondent had to correct Hannity during a discussion about Russia’s disinformation campaign around Ukrainian biolabs.

Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin yet again found herself clarifying misleading comments made by one of her colleagues.

Griffin appeared on Wednesday night’s broadcast of Hannity to provide insight into the ongoing war in Ukraine, in particular the subject of biological research facilities in the country.

A Fox News story earlier on Wednesday that Griffin contributed to detailed Russian accusations that the U.S. is helping develop biological weapons at Ukrainian labs. These claims are “laughable” and an example of Russian disinformation, a senior U.S. defense official said, according to the report.

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The report comes a day after Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland told Congress that the U.S. was working with Ukrainians to prevent Russia from taking control of the biolabs. She added that it’s a “classic Russian technique to blame on the other guy what they’re planning to do themselves.”

Griffin reiterated these points to Hannity, adding, “That is why White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Moscow’s talk about these biolabs has led to concern by U.S. intelligence that Russia could use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine to create a false flag operation.”

“Jennifer,” Hannity said, “but we do know that Victoria Nuland admitted that labs existed. What exactly they’re for, we never got clarity on, correct?”

“Well, we do have clarity,” Griffin responded. “I have a fact sheet—that’s what I was just reading—from the Pentagon.”

Griffin, who has been correcting Ukraine-related comments from Fox News hosts and guests over the past month, explained:

“It is a long program that has existed where the Pentagon has partnered with these biolabs. These were Soviet-era labs that—remember the Nunn-Lugar Bill and trying to deal with proliferation when the Soviet Union ended—that is part of this effort to try to clean up those Soviet-era labs and make sure that nothing escapes from those labs. And so the U.S. has been very open about its involvement there with that. But what Russia does is they take that information, distort it, turn it around, and turn it into disinformation.”

China is also backing Russia’s claims.