Creech Clandestine

estb 2 25

see hunter biden laptop

bio-labs

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QAnon influencers baselessly suggest newly released Epstein emails show Trump was an “informant” against Epstein

Written by Alex Kaplan

Published 11/14/25

Multiple online influencers affiliated with the QAnon conspiracy theory — which falsely asserts that a secret satanic pedophile cabal that included Jeffrey Epstein runs the world — are baselessly suggesting that newly released emails from Epstein that reference President Donald Trump are actually evidence that Trump was an “informant” who worked to take down the convicted sex trafficker.

• ## House members release emails from Epstein mentioning Trump, as he and his allies try to prevent the release of more Epstein files

• • Emails from Epstein released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee seem to allege Trump knew about Epstein's conduct. Epstein wrote in the emails that Trump had “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s alleged victims. Epstein also wrote in the emails that Trump “knew about the girls,” that “that dog that hasn’t barked is trump,” and that Trump was “dangerous.” The New York Times, [11/12/25; NBC News, 11/12/25; CNN, 11/12/25; USA Today, 11/13/25]

• • The House is poised to vote next week on releasing files related to Epstein, despite Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) attempts to prevent it. After resistance from House Republican leaders to a vote on their bill to release the Epstein files, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced a discharge petition in July to force a vote. On November 12, the petition got the final signature required to force a vote after Trump reportedly “made last-ditch moves to block action,” including summoning Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) to a meeting in the White House Situation Room. PBS News, [11/13/25; CNN, 11/12/25; The New York Times, 11/12/25]

• • Johnson previously alleged without evidence that Trump was an FBI informant against Epstein, before later backtracking. In September, Johnson responded to Trump’s claim about a “Democrat Epstein Hoax” and said that the president was “referring to … the hoax that the Democrats are using to try to attack him,” and in fact Trump “was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down.” According to Rolling Stone, “Johnson’s ‘informant’ claim … sparked widespread confusion within the ranks of Trump’s government, with several senior officials blindsided or just completely perplexed by what the Trump-aligned House speaker could have possibly meant,” with “some officials still unsure about whether Johnson was citing some explosive, unheard-of insider information, or if he misspoke or was freelancing extemporaneously.” Days later, Johnson backtracked, saying that he had been referring to “what the (Epstein) victims’ attorney said” and that he didn't know if he “used the right terminology, but that’s common knowledge, and everybody knows that.” Rolling Stone, [9/6/25; CNN, 9/8/25]
• ## The QAnon community has tried to rationalize Trump opposing the Epstein files’ release

• • After Trump dismissed the Epstein filings in July, many in the QAnon community tried to find a way to give Trump a pass. Following Axios’ July 6 reporting of an administration memo that concluded that there is “no evidence” Epstein “kept a ‘client list’ or was murdered,” Trump called the focus on Epstein “foolish” and a “hoax.” In response, influencers affiliated with QAnon speculated that there is “more to the story” and that Trump’s actions are actually part of an elaborate and “brilliant” plot he is enacting against the supposed pedophile cabal. A smaller group of QAnon supporters, however, criticized Trump for his comments about Epstein. Media Matters, [7/21/25]

• • By contrast, many in right-wing media have been critical of Trump and his administration’s handling of the Epstein case. Figures have accused the administration of a “cover-up” and of “utterly mismanag[ing]” the case, and they claimed Trump was “massively misreading his base” on the issue. Media Matters, [7/9/25]

• ## In response to newly released Epstein emails, online influencers affiliated with the QAnon movement suggest the emails make “Trump definitely sound like an asset, an FBI informant”

• • Podcast host Zak Paine, who The New York Times reported “pushes the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory,” claimed the emails suggested “it’s likely” that “Donald Trump was the whistleblower that was responsible for Jeffrey Epstein getting wrapped up in the case in the first place.” Paine also claimed, without evidence, that the emails referred to how Trump supposedly “went to the police and the FBI about this entire thing,” and pointed to Johnson’s “informant” remarks in September as additional evidence. The New York Times, [4/27/21; RedPill78, 11/12/25]

• • Podcaster Brian Lupo wrote that the new email release “supports that theory” that “Trump has been an informant against Epstein.” Lupo, also known online as “CannCon,” has posted about “Q,” QAnon’s central figure, as well as the QAnon slogan. Media Matters, [6/14/23; Twitter/X, accessed 6/14/23, 2/23/23, 11/12/25]

• • Podcaster “Burning Bright,” who’s written that “I am and have been a Q follower,” said “I totally agree” with Lupo that “in the context of the emails themselves,” Trump looks like “an informant.” Bright also invoked Q posts (called “drops”) as part of his claim. Twitter/X, accessed [11/13/25, 5/16/25; Badlands Media, Devolution Power Hour, 11/12/25]

• • Podcaster Jon Herold claimed that one of the emails “makes Trump definitely sound like an asset, an FBI informant.” Herold, who is also known online as “Patel Patriot,” has written that the Q posts “are legit.” Media Matters, [7/22/25; Twitter/X, 11/26/24; Badlands Media, Devolution Power Hour, 11/12/25]

• • Jordan Sather, who The Daily Beast reported is a “prominent QAnon promoter,” claimed that the emails showed “Epstein & his friends ... catching wind that Trump was likely an informant gathering dirt on them.” The Daily Beast, [1/28/20; Telegram, 11/12/25]

• • Pepe Lives Matter, who a BBC reporter has reported is a “major QAnon influencer,” wrote that the “emails may indicate what weve been saying that trump was an informant against epstein.” Twitter/X, [1/7/21; Telegram, 11/12/25]

• • Jacob Creech, a figure known online as “Clandestine” who has “repeatedly posted in support of QAnon,” wrote that the emails show “Trump was Epstein’s #1 enemy.” Creech wrote, “Observe the timeline: Epstein in 2017: ‘Trump is dangerous.’ 2019: Trump’s DOJ indicts/arrests Epstein and seizes his island. Epstein was right to fear Trump, because Epstein knew Trump helped the victims seek justice in FL in 2006. Trump was Epstein’s #1 enemy.” Vice, [4/12/22; Twitter/X, 11/13/25]

• • “The SCIF,” a social media account which has written that “if it wasn’t for Q, most people would still have no clue how bad the child trafficking problem really is,” claimed Trump “exposed and took down Epstein.” The SCIF wrote that the released emails were “another attempt to slander Trump instead of going after the real monsters of child trafficking and abuse” by “cherry picking emails.” The account also claimed this was done “because Trump went after all of them, exposed and took down Epstein, all of their money laundering operations using YOUR taxpayer dollars, and the elites child trafficking blackmail rings.” Twitter/X, [10/25/24, 11/12/25]

//

mma

1. ### QAnon world roiled by Trump opposing releasing the Epstein files

07/21/25 2:39 PM EDT

2. ### Right-wing media are flailing in response to Trump's DOJ memo about Jeffrey Epstein

07/09/25 10:46 AM EDT

3. ### New Epstein emails mentioning Trump don't appear to interest Fox News

11/12/25

---

guk

This article is more than 3 years old

Analysis

How ‘Ukrainian bioweapons labs’ myth went from QAnon fringe to Fox News

Justin Ling

A feedback loop involving Russia and Tucker Carlson is promoting claims of US funding for biological weapons in Ukraine

Fri 18 Mar 2022

The American rightwing media’s trumpeting of a conspiracy theory about Ukrainian biological facilities that masked a clandestine bioweapons programme has now rocketed from a fringe QAnon channel directly to Fox News and Donald Trump Jr.

The Russian propaganda machine is so engaged in sowing disinformation about their invasion of Ukraine that they are even ordering Russian TV to broadcast one of the bioweapon theory’s largest boosters: Tucker Carlson.

[

‘Game of Whac-a-Mole’: why Russian disinformation is still running amok on social media

Read more](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/mar/15/russia-disinformation-social-media-ukraine)

The conspiracy theory began in seeming obscurity. In the hours after Russia launched its aerial bombardment of Ukraine, the Twitter account of a longtime follower of the QAnon conspiracy movement remarked that approximately 30 biolabs were dotted across Ukraine.

“China and Russia indirectly (and correctly) blamed the US for the [Covid-19] outbreak,” the user, who goes by the username @WarClandestine, tweeted. “And are fearful that the US/allies have more viruses (bioweapons) to let out.” The invasion, he posited, was truly about destroying those facilities and the viruses they contained.

In effect, this theory was just a remix of an allegation that Moscow has made for years: accusing the United States of running a secret bioweapons program, often in eastern Europe. A close adviser to President Vladimir Putin alleged last year that Washington “deliberately caused” the coronavirus pandemic and pointed his finger at US-funded laboratories near Russian and Chinese borders.

In January, the Bulgarian journalist Dilyana Gaytandzhieva wrote a sensationalist piece accusing the US of conducting biological experiments on Ukrainian and Georgian soldiers. Gaytandzhieva has previously published overt Russian disinformation, and her reporting was picked up by pro-Russian channels. Gaytandzhieva was even awarded a journalism prize last month by a pro-Russian Latvian politician to “encourage her for new research”, according to a press release.

Around the same time, John Mark Dougan – an American in Moscow, on the lam from wiretapping and extortion charges in Florida – began posting a similar theory, citing a Ukrainian whistleblower. “Washington and its funded laboratories are playing a very dangerous game with these viruses,” he warned in a December 2021 video.

This disinformation laid the groundwork for the QAnon-linked conspiracy theory about Ukrainian biolabs in late February. In less than 24 hours, the far-right US conspiracy site Infowars, which played a particularly acute role in promoting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, ran a story based on the allegation. The headline read: Russian Strikes Targeting US-Run Bio-Labs in Ukraine?

From there, the theory percolated through an array of QAnon and conspiracy theory websites, podcasts and video channels.

The very core of the story is true: the Department of Defense funds biological research and laboratories in Ukraine, and elsewhere in Europe and the Caucasus, in order to surveil emerging infectious diseases and to keep secure facilities that housed a Soviet bioweapons program. But Washington insists that it does not fund biological weapons research anywhere, much less in Ukraine – a claim backed up by a bevy of international organisations and non-proliferation advocates.

Despite that, the claim made its way to Tucker Carlson Tonight, which boasts more than 3 million viewers a night on Fox News. On his show, Carlson insisted that the United States was “funding the creation of deadly pathogens” and played clips of spokespeople for the Russian and Chinese regimes, accusing Washington of operating a bioweapons programme in Europe.

Carlson pursued the story on three different episodes of his show over the past week. On 10 March he brought on writer Glenn Greenwald. “When the government comes out and emphatically denies that they have biological weapons,” Greenwald said. “We know they’re not telling the truth.”

These claims have led to an active feedback loop with Russian state propaganda.

Tass, the Russian news agency seen as a mouthpiece for the Kremlin, has recently accused “Ukrainian radicals” of planning to use “toxic chemicals” against Russian forces or even Ukrainian civilians. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said publicly that these labs are “deadly threats” to the Russian state. These claims have been promoted widely by an array of Russian social media channels, television stations and commentators.

The interplay between American reporting on these biolabs and the Russian response is no accident.

Mother Jones obtained a missive from the department of information and telecommunications support, instructing Russian media to, per a translation, “use as much as possible fragments of broadcasts of the popular Fox News host Tucker Carlson”.

[

What are Russia’s biological weapons claims and what’s actually happening?

Read more](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/11/russia-biological-weapon-claim-us-un-ukraine-bio-labs-explainer)

Specifically, the department called on its mouthpieces in Russian media to highlight that “activities of military biological laboratories with American participation on the territory of Ukraine carried global threats to Russia and Europe”.

All told, the propaganda effort might be an effort to cover up something much more sinister in its own back yard. In a 2021 report, the US state department took the extraordinary step of accusing Moscow of continuing its Soviet-era bioweapons programme.

While Russia submits annual reports to the United Nations stating it has no active bioweapons programme, Washington believes that “the Russian Federation has revised plans and funding to its national chemical and biological facilities.”

But the effort continues, even when contradictory.

On Thursday, state propaganda outlet Sputnik published new documents which, they claim, show “components of biological weapons were being created in Ukraine with direct US involvement and financing”. The US documents themselves, however, clearly contradict that. The Pentagon’s funding will “help to detect, prevent, and predict disease emergence in the region”, reads a 2019 request for funding, reportedly released from the Russian defense ministry.

---

MMA

As USAID is dismantled, right-wing media rejoice and spread baseless conspiracy theories about the agency’s work

Written by Jack Wheatley

Published 02/07/25

As the Trump administration seeks to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development, right-wing media figures and online influencers have repeated unsubstantiated claims about widespread fraud and criminality within the agency.

Proponents of eliminating USAID have also criticized the agency’s projects as “woke” or as supporting left-wing political causes and spread other conspiracy theories about its operations.

One prominent conspiracy theory is the claim that the U.S. government, including USAID, was laundering money to the news organization Politico for favorable coverage during the Biden administration. What started as a simple payroll error by the outlet quickly spiraled into false claims that Politico “was being massively funded by USAID.” In reality, conservative influencers had stumbled upon public data outlining the federal government’s payments for Politico Pro, a subscription service which tracks legislation and policy within the U.S. government.

USAID is the latest government agency in the crosshairs of Trump’s effort to gut the federal government

• • Established in 1961, USAID is an independent agency which “delivers billions of dollars in humanitarian aid overseas” and “addresses a wide range of needs, from women’s health to clean water,” as reported by NBC News. NBC News, [2/3/25]

• • On February 2, President Donald Trump told reporters, without evidence, that USAID has “been run by a bunch of radical lunatics” and that “we’re getting them out.” The next day, he repeated this statement and claimed that the agency had committed “tremendous fraud.” Days later, Trump pushed the misleading claims about Politico on Truth Social, posting that the news organization was paid off “FOR CREATING GOOD STORIES ABOUT THE DEMOCRATS” and saying that it “COULD BE THE BIGGEST SCANDAL OF THEM ALL, PERHAPS THE BIGGEST IN HISTORY!” NBC News, [2/2/25; BBC, 2/4/25; Truth Social, 2/6/25]

• • On February 4, CNN reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced “that he is acting administrator of the US Agency for International Development, confirming the de-facto takeover of the humanitarian agency by the State Department.”The network reported: “The news came hours after Elon Musk, the world’s richest man charged with overhauling the federal government, said President Donald Trump had signed off on shutting the agency down.” CNN, [2/4/25]

• • On February 4, roughly 10,000 employees of the aid agency were notified that “they will be placed on administrative leave at the end of Friday,” per reporting by USA Today. The State Department “is working on a plan to arrange and pay for the return of USAID employees living overseas to the United States within 30 days and to terminate contracts not found to be essential, the notice reads.” Ahead of the administrative leave, two labor groups representing USAID employees filed a lawsuit reportedly “asking the court to block efforts to shut down USAID operations and put staff on leave.” USA Today, [2/4/25; NPR, 2/6/25]

• • Following news of the agency’s gutting, the Center for American Progress noted that “Trump’s foreign aid freeze puts Americans and vulnerable populations in danger of disease, conflict and transnational crime while ceding overseas influence to China and Russia.” The center warned that “Trump has paused programs that strengthen the capabilities of partner nations, deter adversaries, and reduce the need for direct military intervention.” Center for American Progress, [2/5/25]

• ## Right-wing media and online figures have described USAID as a “slush fund” or “money laundering” scheme for the “deep state”

• • Conservative talk show host Charlie Kirk posted on X: “Secretary of State Marco Rubio just absolutely RIPPED the deep state slush fund known as USAID.” Twitter/X, [2/3/25]

• • Right-wing host Dan Bongino said USAID is “about deep state pockets of money used to infiltrate governments, NGOs, and other places for an anti-American censorship agenda” and called it “probably the single greatest slush fund for the deep state you've ever seen.” Rumble, *The Dan Bongino Show*, [2/4/25]

• • On his show, Fox’s Jesse Watters called USAID “one of the country's biggest soft power slush funds” and added, “Wait until you hear about all this crazy pet project stuff they have. Ready? $2.5 million to promote DEI in Serbia, a transgender opera in Colombia, a DEI musical in Ireland, and a trans comic book in Peru. Oh, and $40 million to fund gain of function in Wuhan.” Fox News, *Jesse Watters Primetime*, [2/3/25]

• • Online influencer Jacob Creech, known online as Clandestine, wrote, “The USAID is how Deep State NGOs launder our money under the guise of foreign aid.” He added, “The rats are starting to realize they are being hunted.” Twitter/X, [1/31/25; Anti-Defamation League, 4/5/22]

• • Conservative influencer Robby Starbuck wrote on X of USAID: “Democrats used it as their piggybank to enrich rabid activists who paid themselves enormous sums. Then they donated to Democrats. They also used it to fund fake news too.” Twitter/X, [2/3/25]

• • On X, Rogan O’Handley, known online as DC Draino, wrote, “And now you know why Dems are freaking out that USAID is getting shut down,” claiming, “It was their little political piggy bank.” Twitter/X, [2/4/25; Daily Dot, 4/27/23]

• • Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich called USAID a “money laundering scheme of taxpayer money.” She said Democrats are pushing back because the left is “losing their grip on their power.” Fox News, *Hannity*, [2/4/25]

• ## Right-wing media and influencers have alleged that USAID is a “criminal organization” and is corrupt

• • Mike Cernovich, who has pushed far-right conspiracy theories, posted on X that “USAID was the Skelton key to unlocking all of the corruption. I’ve never seen Democrats so outraged about anything.” Twitter/X, [2/3/25; Media Matters, 8/21/18]

• • On X, MAGA influencer Catturd wrote that “all corruption leads to USAID.” Twitter/X, [2/3/25]

• • On X, right-wing content creator Benny Johnson wrote: “USAID EXPOSED: The Single Largest Criminal Fraud Operation in Human History.” He claimed, “USAID has been fully exposed as a left-wing money laundering criminal organization,” and listed a number of expenditures, some of which he said were for “DEI” and others he said “vanished without oversight” or were “lost.” He concluded, “The majority of this money never went to the ‘projects’ they claim to be promoting. It’s just pure money laundering from your tax dollars into deep state left wing activists. USAID is likely the largest fraud operation in human history.” Twitter/X, [2/4/25]

• • Clandestine also posted: “Trump is digging in the exact area the Deep State do not want him to dig. The USAID holds the paper trail that proves their criminality!” Twitter/X, [2/2/25]

• • On Fox News’The Five, co-host Jeanine Pirro called USAID “a criminal organization” and claimed the agency’s funding is sent to “drag shows in Ecuador, atheism in Nepal, trans comic books in Peru.” Fox News, *The Five*, [2/3/25]

• ## Right-wing media attacked USAID for supporting “woke” causes like DEI programs, LGBTQ rights, and climate initiatives

• • Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum stated that “we see these agencies get designated and given money for what’s a good intention initially and then they just get bloated and bloated and bloated and next thing you know they’re giving things for gender climate issues in Tanzania.” Fox News, *The Story with Martha MacCallum*, [2/3/25]

• • On her show, Megyn Kelly said USAID has “become a left-wing organization that just funds its favorite causes." She added: “At a minimum, it deserves to be, to get a hard second look and to stop the funding until we can figure out, as President Trump infamously once said, what the hell is going on?” SiriusXM, *The Megyn Kelly Show*, [2/3/25]

• • On Fox News, host Laura Ingraham celebrated the dismantling of the agency and claimed that “in 2023, USAID sponsored scores of DEI events here and abroad.” Fox News, *The Ingraham Angle*, [2/3/25]

• • Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro claimed that USAID “has been transformed into trans pride flags in Africa.” He continued, “USAID has been turned into boondoggle projects that are designed to pay millions or billions of dollars to left-wing NGOs, both in the United States and outside the United States, and keep up an entire employment line for people who are out of power. So when Republicans are in power, USAID is still paying a bunch of blue organizations to keep the trains running on time and to make sure the money continues to flow to various organizations abroad that are willing to spread social leftism.” The Daily Wire, *The Ben Shapiro Show*, [2/4/25]

• • Fox News contributor Rebecca Heinrichs claimed that USAID is “pushing things like abortion on conservative countries, or the LGBTQ issue, or climate ideology, and it aggravates our partners and allies.” She said that “sometimes it violates the consciences of our Americans who don’t even want our taxpayer dollars to go to these things.” Fox News, *Outnumbered*, [2/4/25]

• • On his radio show, Fox host Sean Hannity said everything USAID does is “radical DEI, woke, transgender, you know, leftist, Green New Deal madness.” Premiere Radio Network, *The Sean Hannity Show*, [2/4/25]

• ## Right-wing media and MAGA influencers latched onto misleading ties between USAID and Politico

• • On X, former Fox producer Kyle Becker wrote: “Fun Fact: @Politico received USAID funds. Everything makes sense now.” Becker attached screenshots of publicly available data regarding the federal government’s media subscriptions. Twitter/X, [2/5/25]

• • Benny Johnson jumped on the claim, calling it “the biggest scandal in news media history,” and falsely claimed that a payroll error at the news organization proved it was “being massively funded by USAID.” He added, “The corruption is endless.” Twitter/X, [2/5/25]

• • On Fox News, host Jesse Watters proclaimed onThe Five, “The money for Politico is a huge scandal,” and falsely claimed that the subscription service “only started getting paid for by the Biden administration.” He continued attacking Politico on his nightly program, Jesse Watters Primetime, saying: “The Biden administration was paying the press,” and claiming that the Biden White House was “funneling … taxpayer money over there in exchange for good coverage.” As Media Matters reported, “In reality, the federal government paid Politico at least $1 million in each year of Trump’s presidency, increasing to $2.6 million in fiscal year 2020.” Fox News, *The Five*, [2/5/25; Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 2/5/25; Media Matters, 2/6/25]

• • Fox host Will Cain also ran with the theory on Fox News, describing it as “grotesque” and claiming, “It's at a minimum subsidizing a political operation under the guise of a media. It's perhaps money laundering to ideological compatriots.” Fox News, *The Will Cain Show*, [2/5/25]

//

Sean Hannity says everything USAID does is “radical DEI, woke, transgender, you know, leftist, Green New Deal madness”

---

https://www.mediamatters.org/russias-invasion-ukraine/conspiracy-theory-about-hunter-biden-and-ukrainian-biolabs-went-qanon

no lnx twt pix vid

a conspiracy theory about Hunter Biden and Ukrainian biolabs went from QAnon supporters and far-right message boards to the Kremlin and Tucker Carlson

WRITTEN BY ALEX KAPLAN

PUBLISHED 03/28/22

A version of a false conspiracy theory about Ukrainian biolabs that holds that Hunter Biden is connected to those labs was spread by the Russian government, Chinese state media, and Fox News host Tucker Carlson, after supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory and users on far-right message boards pushed the claim.

In late February, a false conspiracy theory spread online -- spurred on by a QAnon-supporting Twitter account known as “Clandestine” -- that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was targeting U.S.-linked labs working to create bioweapons. In reality, the labs are focused on detecting diseases, the U.S. program aims to prevent the development or spread of biological weapons, and the conspiracy theory has its roots in a longstanding Russian disinformation effort. The false claim has spread online among far-right figures and QAnon supporters, and the Russian government has invoked the conspiracy theory to justify the invasion following its spread in parts of the American right.

In the months before the invasion, a separate conspiracy theory circulated online suggesting that Biden was tied to labs involved in potentially nefarious activity around the world, including possibly causing the coronavirus pandemic.Although Ukraine was not the only focus of the conspiracy theory, it was mentioned as one of the countries supposedly involved in these efforts; this claim also followed previous allegations from right-wing media about wrongdoing by Biden in that country.

In particular, a thread from a QAnon-supporting Twitter account called “Blue Canaries” claimed in October that Biden was connected to an effort to manufacture “bio agents under diplomatic cover at ‘secret’ labs” and sell “pandemic insurance and trackers to help countries get ahead of what they are putting out.”

Blue Canaries Twitter

Blue Canaries’ Twitter thread quickly spread among some online conspiracy theorists, including on 8kun’s “/qresearch/” message board, the forum dedicated to “Q,” QAnon’s central figure. It was shared on-air by Infowars host Owen Shroyer, who hyped the thread as “unbelievable,” as well as by Jeffrey Pedersen, a QAnon influencer and show co-host known online as “intheMatrixxx,” who called it “a very interesting thread/dig.”

8kun Hunter biolabs1

CitationFrom 8kun's “/qresearch/” message board

Soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in late February, and as Clandestine’s biolabs conspiracy theory Twitter thread took off online, the Blue Canaries Twitter thread mentioning Biden was invoked again and began to spread among users on far-right message boards.

QAnon forum Hunter biolabs

It was also featured onPedersen’s MatrixxxGrooove Show(also known as MG Show) just one day after Russia’s invasion began. Pedersen -- who had by that point shared Clandestine’s claim about biolabs as a reason for the invasion -- extensively discussed Blue Canaries’ Twitter thread, linked it to Biden, and suggested “President [Vladimir] Putin and Russia have been worried about this.” Co-host Shannon Townsend added, “This looks like the biggest thing that they would be worried about considering what we’ve experienced in the world for the last two-plus years. Why would he not be afraid that this was going on? And what if we could prove that it was going on all over the country of Ukraine, right next door to him?”

Video CitationFrom the February 25, 2022, edition of the MatrixxxGrooove Show

Following that MatrixxxGrooove Show episode on February 25, both Blue Canaries’ Twitter thread and the claim that Biden was tied to Ukrainian biolabs continued to spread via some social media accounts and on far-right message board site 4chan. On February 28, RedPill78’s Zak Paine, a QAnon show host who participated in the Capitol insurrection, discussed Biden “in regards to those biolabs in the Ukraine” and the “ongoing conversation about biological weapons facilities in the country of Ukraine that were set up by the United States government.”

On March 8, Infowars published an article claiming Biden was “connected to US biolabs in Ukraine,” mentioning some of the same organizations cited by the Blue Canaries thread -- repeating claims that the outlet had pushed on-air months earlier. Two days later, far-right blog The Gateway Pundit came out with its own piece claiming Biden’s investment fund had “provided capital for the firms behind the creation of Biolabs in Ukraine,” citing Infowars’ “excellent article with connections between Hunter Biden” and the supposed biolabs. Pedersen shared both articles and wrote, “You heard it on the MG Show first,” adding that “we also beat infowars” on pushing the conspiracy theory.

Gateway Pundit Hunter biolabs

CitationFrom The Gateway Pundit

Following The Gateway Pundit’s article, the conspiracy theory gained more exposure on some mainstream social media platforms, getting thousands of total engagements on those platforms.

The Russian government invoked this particular version of the conspiracy theory on March 24, with the Ministry of Defense accusing Biden’s investment firm of having a “close connection” to military contractors responsible for “Pentagon biolaboratories around the world” -- similar to what Blue Canaries had suggested those months prior. Russia’s Defense Ministry also released a diagram of supposed connections between Biden, the Democratic Party, George Soros, various U.S. companies and federal agencies, and foreign governments as evidence for the conspiracy theory,and the claim was subsequently pushed by Russian state media. Chinese state media also pushed the claim, citing the Russian government.

Russian and Chinese state media Hunter biolabs

On the evening of March 24, Fox News host Tucker Carlson -- who had previously pushed the broader biolabs conspiracy theory to justify Russia’s invasion -- pointed to a National Pulse article from earlier that day to say that “a private equity firm run by Hunter Biden funded some of the research into pathogens in these biolabs.” The on-screen chyron said, “Report: Hunter Linked To Ukrainian Biolab.” (The MatrixxxGrooove Show’s Townsend had also shared the National Pulse article and claimed that his show found what the article claimed “over a month ago.”)

Video fileCitationFrom the March 24, 2022, edition of Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tonight

For his part, Clandestine -- the QAnon supporter who caused the initial biolabs conspiracy theory to spread widely online following the invasion -- joined in hyping the Biden angle and cheered Carlson’s points, calling them “digestible doses for the normies” that are “culminating into a mass realization the likes of which the world has never seen.”

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---

// adl

Published: 04.05.2022

• Extremism, Hate or Terrorism

April 05, 2022

*Update: On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, Creech appeared on the Alex Jones Show, where he confirmed his identity -- and his role in perpetrating the biolab conspiracy theory.

The ADL Center on Extremism has, with a high degree of confidence, identified “Clandestine,” the man behind the viral biolab conspiracy theory, as Jacob Creech, a self-described former restaurant manager and Army National Guard veteran living in rural Virginia. The discovery highlights how a fringeQAnon figure, harnessing the power of social media, sparked a viral conspiracy theory that – in just a few weeks – made its way from QAnon to the world stage, amplified by Tucker Carlson, white supremacists Nick Fuentes and Vincent James, members of the Proud Boys, and Steve Bannon – and even the Kremlin.

Background

On February 24, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine got underway, Creech, tweeting from his now-suspended @WarClandestine account, posted a thread claiming that Russian airstrikes were targeting “U.S. biolabs” in Ukraine.

“China and Russia indirectly (and correctly) blamed the US for the C19 [Covid-19] outbreak,” Creech tweeted. “And [they] are fearful that the US/allies have more viruses (bioweapons) to let out.” The invasion, he posited, was a smokescreen for Russia to destroy U.S. biolabs in Ukraine, thus preventing another global pandemic.

Within hours of Creech’s initial tweet, InfoWars, a conspiracy site run by Alex Jones, published a story promoting the biolab conspiracy, crediting @WarClandestine for uncovering what it dubbed the “ulterior motive theory.” QAnon forums and Telegram channels also began to share the theory. Meanwhile, the hashtag #USBiolabs began trending on Twitter and TikTok, where posts promoting the conspiracy racked up tens of thousands of likes.

^Within ^hours ^of ^his ^initial ^thread, ^Creech’s ^biolab ^theory ^began ^to ^spread ^across ^QAnon ^communities ^on ^Telegram ^and ^greatawakening.win.

While Russia has peddled false claims about U.S. biolabs in the past, Creech’s thread helped revive a languishing Russian disinformation narrative, providing the Kremlin with another explanation to justify its invasion of Ukraine. On February 27th – just three days after his thread was posted – the Russian Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina posted on Facebook endorsing the theory, accusing the United States of stuffing “Ukraine with biolaboratories, which – quite possibly – were used to study methods for the destruction of the Russian people at the genetic level.” Creech celebrated the embassy’s claims, tweeting from a new account, @clandestinenot, “My hypothesis was correct!... Russian air strikes in Ukraine have nothing to do with Ukraine, but rather AMERICAN ASSETS in Ukraine! It means this “war” is MUCH bigger than Ukraine. It’s a skirmish with the United States of America.”

Russia’s false biolab claims quickly raised concerns that it was laying the groundwork for a future attack against Ukraine using biological weapons. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on March 8, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) questioned U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland about Russia’s claims. During her testimony, Nuland confirmed that Ukraine had “biological research facilities” and noted that the U.S. was concerned Russia could gain control of them.

Nuland’s testimony was quickly seized upon by QAnon adherents and right-wing media outlets as “proof” that the biolabs conspiracy was true. A day after the Senate hearing, Fox News host Tucker Carlson, citing Nuland’s testimony, accused the U.S. government of lying about funding secret biolabs in Ukraine. “If, for example, you were funding secret bio labs in Ukraine, but wanted to hide that fact from the people who are paying for it, in whose name you're doing it, then you might lie about it by claiming the Russians were lying about it,” Carlson said.

Conspiracy Theory Goes Viral

As the biolab theory continued to gain traction, Creech repeatedly took credit for coming up with the conspiracy and celebrated its dissemination in mainstream spaces. “YOU GUYS TUCKER’S OPENING STATEMENT IS THE BIOLABS STORY. The story is on the most watched show in America,” Creech wrote on Telegram on March 9, shortly after Tucker Carlson’s broadcast began. “HOLY SHIT WE FUCKING DID IT.” In a follow up post, Creech wrote, “I am trying to get in contact with Tucker [Carlson], [Dan] Bongino, [Jesse] Watters, [Steve] Bannon, Alex Jones. If they wanna use my thread and they wanna send this mainstream, then I guess it’s time to go mainstream.”

Creech, under his aliases WarClandestine and BioClandestine, has twice appeared on RedPill78, a popular QAnon show hosted by Zak Paine, to promote the biolab theory. “I'm the one who wrote the [Twitter] thread that kind of took the world by storm. If you're hearing about the bio labs it was me,” Creech said during a February 26 appearance on the show. He also promoted the theory, under his alias BioClandestine, during a March 15th appearance on election fraud conspiracy theorist Seth Holehouse’s show Man in America, saying, “they're trying to establish a narrative that Russia is going to be the one releasing these biological weapons after they said there were no biological weapons in Ukraine. So now they're in this mass cover-up phase.”

*Jacob ^Creech ^(lower ^right) ^called ^into ^RedPill78, ^an ^online ^show ^hosted ^by ^QAnon ^influencer ^Zak ^Paine, ^on ^February ^26, ^2022.

Creech has attempted to distance himself from QAnon, criticizing news reports that refer to him as a “QAnon influencer.” A review of Creech’s prior social media activity, however, shows he’s been following Q since 2018.

Creech previously tweeted other conspiracies under the monikers “Clandestine Rosenstein” and “Sneaky Rod,” positing that then U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was a secret “white hat” in Trump's war to take down the “Deep State.” Rosenstein, who appointed Robert Mueller to lead the Russia probe, was a frequent target of “Q,” who accused him of trying to “entrap” Trump by secretly recording him in the White House.

“RR [Rod Rosenstein] has been Team Trump since April 2017 when Trump appointed him,” Creech tweeted in April 2020 under the handle @arbiter1776. “All RR has done is prove Trump right, CONFIRM the Russia conspiracy allegations were false, and expose bad actors like McCabe and Comey.”

Creech has repeatedly invoked “Q” over the years. In 2018, he tweeted from his @ClandestineRos1 account, “There are many stances on Q, but we cannot deny the reality and magnitude of the movement.” In 2020, he tweeted under @arbiter1776, “... what is our role as Anons to assist the Q team and carry on The Great Awakening? It is our personal responsibility to be informed.” Creech also appeared on RedPill78 in November 2020, under his alias Clandestine Rosenstein, just a few weeks after the election, where he, alongside host Zak Paine and fellow QAnon influencer Beer at the Parade, peddled false claims that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen.”

He has also allegedly called for various public officials to be executed. Replying to a February 2022 tweet from the Ottawa Police thanking GoFundMe for withholding funding from the Trucker’s Convoy, he wrote, “Don’t worry Ottowa [sic] police. We got enough rope for your fascist asses too. When all is said and done, you’ll be swinging with the rest of them.”

The biolabs conspiracy isn’t the first time that Creech has spread misinformation on Twitter. In July 2019, Creech, tweeting from his @RodSneaky account, alleged that the media was not reporting on the NXVIM sex trafficking case. While the @RodSneaky account was suspended by Twitter shortly after for "platform manipulation and spam,” screenshots of Creech’s tweets continued to circulate online, prompting Reuters to publiclydebunk the claim.

As the war in Ukraine rages on, the biolab conspiracy has quickly emerged as the prevailing narrative among QAnon adherents to explain Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Not only does it “justify” the invasion in their eyes, it also validates their belief that Covid-19 is a U.S.-created bioweapon. This flood of disinformation could have far-reaching implications in the long term, sowing further distrust in democratic institutions and exacerbating political polarization.

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