OAN conspiracy theorist considers Russian maternity hospital bombing a ‘false flag operation’

All over the world, people were horrified when Russian forces bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine. But at One America News, where apologists for Russian President Vladimir Putin are never in short supply, far-right conspiracy theorist Pearson Sharp claimed that the attack was a “false flag operation.”

OAN, a cable news competitor of Fox News and Newsmax TV, is infamous for promoting baseless conspiracy theories. During a March 11 broadcast, Sharp questioned whether or not Russian forces really bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol — an attack that has been well-documented — and he also promoted the Kremlin’s Ukrainian biolabs conspiracy theory.

Pearson told OAN viewers, “It looks like we have the makings of yet another false flag operation — this time, in the far-flung land of Ukraine, where (President Joe) Biden and his cronies are desperately trying to cook up more conflict to distract from their monumental failures here in America, not to mention cover up their top-secret and illegal biolabs developing deadly weapons that the State Department insisted didn't exist until they came out and admitted a day later that the labs do, in fact, exist.”

The Kremlin’s biolabs conspiracy theory claims that in Ukrainian labs, bioweapons are being developed with the blessing of the United States’ Democratic Party — and some right-wing MAGA Republicans have been more than happy to promote the Kremlin’s claim, saying that Putin was looking out for Russia’s national security when he ordered the Ukraine invasion.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, on March 9, devoted an entire Twitter thread to debunking that conspiracy theory.

Pearson told viewers, “So, what's the most recent story cooked up by the American Pravda? Well, it turns out that the Russians, Democrats' favorite adversary, blew up a hospital, killing several people, including a child. The latest report from the corporate media warhawks is that a maternity ward in Mariupol, Ukraine was bombed indiscriminately, which has naturally sparked a global outrage.”

The OAN host also slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying that he has billionaire Democrat “George Soros' hand up his back, moving his mouth.” Far-right conspiracy theorists are obsessed with Soros. So, when Pearson was ranting about the Putin-sponsored carnage in Mariupol, it wasn’t surprising that he found a way to work Soros into his rant.