40 years after Chernobyl, Stasi files reveal scale of Soviet misinformation

NewsWorldEurope40 years after Chernobyl, Stasi files reveal scale of Soviet misinformationFor decades, researchers, political leaders and advocacy groups have worked to uncover the story of the explosionLauren Cassidy The Conversation Sunday 26 April 2026 16:42 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2965199","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/chernobyl-anniversary-secret-stasi-files-misinformation-b2965199.html","title":"40 years after Chernobyl, Stasi files reveal scale of Soviet misinformation"}}CloseInside The Chernobyl Catastrophe: What Went Wrong?On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Europe","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"}}On April 26, 1986, Soviet engineers at the Chernoby...