CLASSIC: Operation Infektion: Russia's AIDS Conspiracy

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

iHeartPodcasts

Society & Culture

4.3 • 10.7K Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

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Summary

HIV and AIDS, the syndrome the infection causes, have become the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. Over the decades people have proposed the infection was purposely designed to kill certain segments of the public, or that it was a lab experiment gone wrong, or that it didn't exist at all. For a time these theories enjoyed massive popularity in the US and abroad... but there was another conspiracy at play, one that most people weren't aware of: join Ben, Matt and Noel to learn more about Russia's Operation Infektion in this week's Classic episode.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	fellow conspiracy realist. This one was a real hot button issue for us. This is something that a lot
0:07.0	of people in the West are not aware of. It's Russia's Operation Infection with a cake.
0:12.9	Because it's edgy. No, all jokes aside, this is a horrific story. Yes, it is. And it's strange,
0:20.4	because we did this one in 2020.
0:22.5	And I don't know why you guys, I didn't personally learn about the conspiracy theories floating around about the national institutes of health and some of the other institutes here in the United States.
0:34.5	And their potential involvement in vaccinations that led to all these
0:37.7	things. Again, these are theories that are floating around out there.
0:40.5	I hadn't either, Matt.
0:41.6	But they match up weirdly with this, the thing we're going to talk about in this episode.
0:49.4	I don't know.
0:50.5	It's just strange.
0:51.7	Let's get into it.
0:52.5	After a word from our sponsors.
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	...

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