No, US-Funded Overseas Labs Are Not Running Gain-of-Function Research on Anthrax and Ebola — But Here's What They Actually Do
“Many of these US-funded biological facilities have engaged in or currently engage in gain-of-function research involving hazardous pathogens including anthrax, Ebola, MERS, SARS, and plague”
The argument in brief
The claim is that US-funded foreign biological facilities are conducting gain-of-function research on dangerous pathogens like anthrax, Ebola, and plague. This is false as stated — these labs exist and do handle hazardous pathogens, but for disease surveillance and pathogen security, not to enhance them. The Associated Press and PolitiFact found no credible evidence of gain-of-function work, and the claim traces largely to Russian state media disinformation.
Why it spread
People reasonably distrust government programs they cannot directly inspect, and the idea of secret bioweapons labs taps into longstanding fears with historical grounding — governments have run illegal bioweapons programs before. The claim also had a genuine hook: these labs do exist and do handle deadly pathogens. That kernel of truth made the leap to 'gain-of-function weapons research' feel plausible, especially when amplified by state media with an interest in making it stick.
The claim is that US-funded biological laboratories abroad — particularly in Ukraine and former Soviet states — are actively conducting gain-of-function research on some of the world's most dangerous pathogens, including anthrax, Ebola, MERS, SARS, and plague. This is partially false. The labs are real, the pathogens are real, but the characterization of the research is wrong in a critical way.
The facilities in question are funded through the Pentagon's Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP), which the Department of Defense describes as focused on detecting disease outbreaks, securing dangerous pathogen samples, and conducting defensive public health research. The program operates explicitly under the Biological Weapons Convention. These are not secret installations — their existence is publicly documented and acknowledged by US officials.
Gain-of-function research is a specific scientific practice: deliberately altering a pathogen to make it more transmissible or more dangerous. The NIH has a formal review process for any federally funded research that could do this, and the Congressional Research Service found no documented evidence that BTRP-funded partner labs conduct it. Working with a dangerous pathogen to study or contain it is not the same as engineering it to be more lethal — and the claim collapses that distinction entirely.
The confusion got a boost in March 2022 when Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland confirmed in Senate testimony that US-funded biological research facilities exist in Ukraine and that the US was concerned about their materials falling into Russian hands. That confirmation was widely clipped and misrepresented online as an admission of weapons or gain-of-function work. It was not. She described them as public health labs, which is consistent with all other available evidence.
This narrative spread because it has a kernel of truth — the labs are real, the pathogens are real, and government secrecy around biosecurity is also real. That makes it easy to blur the line between legitimate biosafety work and something more sinister. AP's fact-checkers traced the amplified version of this claim substantially to Russian state media, which began pushing it heavily around the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. When evaluating similar claims, watch for the move of treating 'works with pathogen X' as equivalent to 'is weaponizing pathogen X' — they are not the same thing.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Fact Sheet on Biological Threat Reduction Program
The DoD Biological Threat Reduction Program (BTRP) funds partner nation laboratories to detect and report disease outbreaks, secure dangerous pathogens, and conduct defensive research — not offensive or gain-of-function research. The program explicitly operates under the Biological Weapons Convention.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) Gain-of-Function Research Policy
NIH defines gain-of-function research narrowly and has a formal review process (P3CO Framework) for any federally funded research that could enhance pathogen transmissibility or virulence. Funded overseas labs must comply with U.S. oversight requirements.
- PolitiFact Fact-Check: US Biolabs in Ukraine
PolitiFact rated claims about secret U.S. offensive bioweapons labs in Ukraine as False. The labs are public health facilities focused on disease surveillance and pathogen security, not weapons or gain-of-function research.
- AP Fact Check: U.S.-funded labs and bioweapons claims
AP found no credible evidence that U.S.-funded overseas biological laboratories conduct gain-of-function research on anthrax, Ebola, MERS, SARS, or plague. The claim originated largely from Russian state media disinformation campaigns.
- Congressional Research Service: Gain-of-Function Research Background
CRS notes that gain-of-function research is a legitimate but controversial scientific practice subject to federal oversight. There is no documented evidence that BTRP-funded partner labs conduct gain-of-function research; their mandate is biosurveillance and pathogen security.
- Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland Senate Testimony, March 2022
Nuland confirmed the existence of U.S.-funded biological research facilities in Ukraine and expressed concern about materials falling into Russian hands, but characterized them as public health labs — not gain-of-function or weapons facilities. Her testimony was widely misrepresented.