Kseniia Petrova Credit: Cora Anderson/Facebook
One of the most significant benefits of the second Trump Administration is how quickly they have been able to blow up fake news stories pushed by the corporate media. One great example is a sob story about a Russian-born Harvard scientist written today that would have gone unchecked in previous years.
NBC ‘News’ yesterday published an article attempting to show the ‘consequences’ of President Trump’s no-nonsense illegal immigration policy relating to researchers at our universities. ICE detained 30-year-old scientist Kseniia Petrova back in February, and she is now battling to avoid being deported back to Russia.
Petrova was supposedly on the cusp of potentially unlocking major breakthroughs in cancer research and detection, which could save millions of lives. Moreover, Petrova fears that she will be punished for protesting the Ukraine-Russia war and is trying to claim asylum.
Here is how the Peacock channel ‘reported’ on the situation:
A groundbreaking microscope at Harvard Medical School could lead to breakthroughs in cancer detection and research into longevity. But the scientist who developed computer scripts to read its images and unlock its full potential has been in an immigration detention center for two months — putting crucial scientific advancements at risk.
The scientist, the 30-year-old Russian-born Kseniia Petrova, worked at Harvard’s renowned Kirschner Lab until her arrest at a Boston airport in mid-February. She is now being held at ICE’s Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, and fighting possible deportation to Russia, where she said she fears persecution and jail time over her protests against the war in Ukraine.
“I would call it a grinding machine,” Petrova, who spoke with NBC News from the Louisiana facility, said about being detained. “We are in this machine, and it doesn’t care if you have a visa, a green card, or any particular story. … It just keeps going.”
Petrova’s case and the detention of academics across the country has damaged the ability of universities in the United States to recruit and retain leading talent, experts and Petrova’s colleagues said. In fields where expertise is often highly specialized, the loss of talent could have dire consequences globally for the future of medicine and scientific discovery.
This sounds quite chilling. But what did Petrova allegedly do to cause ICE to take such drastic action?
Today, the Department of Homeland Security revealed the brutal facts regarding Petrova’s situation. She broke multiple laws, including smuggling undeclared Petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells.
Moreover, Petrova blatantly lied to federal officers about carrying the substances into America, and messages on her phone revealed she fully intended to sneak these items in without declaring them.
What was she really up to?
The individual was lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying substances into the country.
A subsequent K9 inspection uncovered undeclared petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits.… https://t.co/T0bFUZUs01
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 22, 2025
If Petrova gets sent back to Russia, she will only have herself to blame. However, corporate media will never dare tell the truth because it does not fit the narrative.
NBC says Petrova’s first immigration court hearing in Louisiana was scheduled for this morning. Her lawyer, Gregory Romanovsky, told the outlet that they think they will have more information regarding her asylum case following the hearing.
The post FAKE NEWS BUSTED: NBC’s Sob Story About ICE’s Detainment of a Russian-Born Harvard Scientist Backfires When the Brutal Truth About Her Actions Emerge appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.