LONDON: Social media influencers in Germany and France were offered payment by a supposedly UK-based public relations firm to denounce the Pfizer coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine.

Fazze, which claimed to have an address in London, reportedly urged influencers to tell their followers that the Pfizer jab was deadly and that regulators and the mainstream media were involved in a cover-up.

But when the targeted YouTubers and bloggers tried to find out more about Fazze the trail led to apparent Russian connections.

One influencer, Mirko Drotschmann, a German health commentator with 1.5 million YouTube subscribers, said that the PR agency had asked if he wanted to be part of an “information campaign” about Pfizer deaths in exchange for money. But after doing some research, he added: “Agency headquarters: London. Residence of the CEO: Moscow.”

As questions started to be asked on social media about the company’s authenticity, Fazze’s social media profiles were wiped out or made private.

Before disappearing, the company’s LinkedIn profile showed that everyone employed had previously worked in Russia. Its Instagram account was made private and content on its Facebook page was deleted.

Misinformation campaigns have been common since COVID-19 vaccines started to be approved for use late last year.

Recent reports suggested that Russia was behind campaigns to discredit vaccines produced in the West in favor of its own Sputnik V jab.

However, chairman of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization’s executive committee, Jeremy Levin, said the intent behind the vaccine misinformation campaign was unknown and that it could purely be commercial or political.