Fake Video of ‘American’ Shooting a Quran Traced to Russian Propaganda Agency

An investigative report from the BBC exposed a Russian disinformation attempt that could have been straight out of the Cold War.

An investigative report from the BBC exposed a Russian disinformation attempt that could have been straight out of the Cold War.

In September 2015, a video appeared online showing a man dressed like a U.S. soldier firing three shots from a Russian-made Saiga 401K rifle at a copy of the Quran.

The video caught plenty of interest in Russia, and sparked anger in Russia’s Muslim community.

According to the new investigation, however, the video was fake. Researchers traced it to Russia’s Agency for Internet Studies, which The Guardian called a “secretive Russian agency that hires people to write pro-Kremlin propaganda on the web.”

The investigation was carried out by the BBC’s Russian-language service. It quotes an Islamic preacher saying, “The religious factor has always been used in the information war.”

It notes the seriousness of the propaganda, drawing out similarities to a 2011 incident, when Florida pastor Terry Jones burned a Quran, which led to riots in Afghanistan that killed at least 11 people including U.N. officials.

It features two dark-skinned men speaking with heavy non-American accents