On 22 February, US officials alleged that Russia is behind an ongoing disinformation campaign, using thousands of social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram to deliberately promote unfounded conspiracy theories, claiming that the virus is a biological weapon manufactured by the CIA and the US is waging economic war on China using the virus.[33][34][35] The acting assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, Philip Reeker, said that "Russia’s intent is to sow discord and undermine US institutions and alliances from within" and "by spreading disinformation about coronavirus, Russian malign actors are once again choosing to threaten public safety by distracting from the global health response".[33] Russia denies the allegation, saying "this is a deliberately false story".[36]