Who Benefits From Scaring the Public?

Fake news again spread in Bashkortostan this week, according to the local outlet Bashkortostan. Claims that plague (chuma) is spreading in the republic and that money is being collected from residents for the MHO resurfaced. A fake document bearing the signature of Bashkortostan Head Radiy Khabirov required civil servants to take regular PCR tests and said those with non-negative results would be suspended from work without pay. The document's date and number could not be found in official sources.

Fake messages were also issued in the name of acting Prime Minister Aleksandr Sheldyaev. A Telegram channel claimed his charity fund had collected more than 12 million rubles to help MHO participants. Sheldyaev denied the claim, saying no such fund exists and that criminals are using his name.

A website copying the Russian Central Bank's design published claims of a surge in fake 1000-ruble banknotes. The Bashkortostan branch of the National Bank said the claims did not concern it. In Ufa, a 59-year-old man lost more than 4 million rubles after being contacted by people posing as officials. Police warned that calls demanding money transfers in the name of state bodies should be ended immediately.