COVID-19 conspiracies soar after latest report on origins
1 year, 9 months ago

COVID-19 conspiracies soar after latest report on origins

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — COVID-19’s origins remain hazy. On Tuesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Fox News that the FBI “has for quite some time now” assessed that the pandemic’s origins are “most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.” But others in the U.S. intelligence community disagree, and there’s no consensus. Everything we skeptics said was true.” Overall mentions of COVID-19 began to rise after The Wall Street Journal published a story about the Energy Department report on Sunday. While the lab leak theory has bounced around the internet since the pandemic began, references to it soared 100,000% in the 48 hours after the Energy Department report was revealed, according to Zignal’s analysis, which combed through social media, blogs and other sites. “And any time something new comes along, it breathes new life into these grievances and frustrations, real or imagined.” Chinese government officials have in the past used their social media accounts to amplify anti-U.S. conspiracy theories, including some that suggested the U.S. created the COVID-19 virus and framed its release on China.

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History of this topic

House Covid-19 panel releases final report criticizing public health response to the pandemic
3 weeks, 1 day ago

House Covid-19 panel releases final report criticizing public health response to the pandemic

CNN  

CNN — A Republican-led House committee investigating broad aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects in the US released a final report Monday summarizing its two-year effort, saying it hoped the work would “serve as a road map for Congress, the Executive Branch, and the private sector to prepare for and respond to future pandemics.” In the 520-page report, …

Column: The Pentagon’s former top UFO hunter talks about COVID-19, Haitian pet-eaters and pseudoscience generally
3 months ago

Column: The Pentagon’s former top UFO hunter talks about COVID-19, Haitian pet-eaters and pseudoscience generally

LA Times  

Trained as a physicist, Sean M. Kirkpatrick has spent most of his career in government, much of it as an intelligence and technology expert for various Pentagon agencies, culminating in an 18-month stint as the government’s lead investigator of UFOs. “After painstakingly assembling a team of highly talented and motivated personnel to develop a rational, systematic and science-based strategy to …

Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous
8 months ago

Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous

Associated Press  

BEIJING — The hunt for the origins of COVID-19 has gone dark in China, the victim of political infighting after a series of stalled and thwarted attempts to find the source of the virus that killed millions and paralyzed the world for months. In a faxed statement, China’s Foreign Ministry defended China’s handling of research into the origins, saying the …

COVID-19: Why we're looking for the pandemic's origin
9 months, 1 week ago

COVID-19: Why we're looking for the pandemic's origin

Hindustan Times  

Discovering COVID's origin will shape the next pandemic. Some experts say it's possible that the Wuhan lab had progenitor strains — ancestors — of SARS-CoV-2, but China's alleged withholding information on the origin of COVID makes this impossible to prove or disprove. "Every form of the lab leak theory involves some sort of cover up, which to me means that …

Revealed: US and China sought to create virus in 2018 similar to Covid
11 months ago

Revealed: US and China sought to create virus in 2018 similar to Covid

Daily Mail  

Bombshell new documents shed light on a shady 2018 project between US and Chinese scientists to create a novel virus with the same rare features seen in Covid. In initial proposals for DEFUSE, the lab work was to be done in a biosafety-level 2 lab, which researchers said would appeal to federal grant-makers as 'highly cost effective' despite the fewer …

Did the CIA bribe its officials to cover up COVID-19 lab-leak theory?
1 year, 3 months ago

Did the CIA bribe its officials to cover up COVID-19 lab-leak theory?

Firstpost  

A CIA official has made claims about the origins of COVID-19 to a congressional hearing. He alleges that the US agency offered six of its own analysts ‘a significant monetary incentive’ to change their position – that the virus didn’t leak from the Wuhan lab and jumped from animals to humans It’s been three years since COVID-19 struck the globe; …

Column: U.S. government debunks COVID lab-leak conspiracy theory, enraging conspiracy theorists
1 year, 5 months ago

Column: U.S. government debunks COVID lab-leak conspiracy theory, enraging conspiracy theorists

LA Times  

Security personnel stand outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the focus of conspiracy theorists about the origin of COVID-19. The intelligence report says that both hypotheses “remain plausible.” But anyone with the slightest capability for critical thinking will see from the text that it comes down against the lab-leak hypothesis. The intelligence report says the researchers’ symptoms were “consistent with …

COVID-19 origins remain a mystery, declassified report shows
1 year, 5 months ago

COVID-19 origins remain a mystery, declassified report shows

LA Times  

Security personnel gather near the entrance of the Wuhan Institute of Virology during a visit by a team from the World Health Organization in 2021. U.S. intelligence agencies weren’t able to determine whether researchers at laboratory in Wuhan, China, who fell sick in the fall of 2019 were infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the disease that soon spread …

US intelligence report on COVID-19 origins rejects some points raised by lab leak theory proponents
1 year, 6 months ago

US intelligence report on COVID-19 origins rejects some points raised by lab leak theory proponents

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials released an intelligence report Friday that rejected some points raised by those who argue COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab, instead reiterating that American spy agencies remain divided over how the pandemic began. But the report says U.S. intelligence “has no information, however, indicating that any WIV genetic engineering work has involved SARS-CoV-2, a close progenitor, …

Come clean on Covid origins, says WHO as lab leak theory gains momentum
1 year, 9 months ago

Come clean on Covid origins, says WHO as lab leak theory gains momentum

India Today  

The WHO on Friday urged all countries to reveal what they know about the origins of Covid-19, following US claims of a Chinese lab leak and furious denials from Beijing. FBI director Christopher Wray told Fox News television on Tuesday that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had now assessed the source of the Covid-19 pandemic was "most likely a …

US govt finally close to admitting what everyone knew, that Covid came from a lab in Wuhan
1 year, 9 months ago

US govt finally close to admitting what everyone knew, that Covid came from a lab in Wuhan

Op India  

The United Senate has unanimously voted to call for a bill to declassify all intelligence regarding the origins of Covid 19, more than 3 years after the pandemic broke and killed millions of people around the world. pic.twitter.com/liNdlhoKu1 — Disclose.tv March 2, 2023 The development comes a day after the US Department of Energy and later the FBI confirmed that …

Lab leak ‘most likely’ led to Covid pandemic, FBI director says
1 year, 9 months ago

Lab leak ‘most likely’ led to Covid pandemic, FBI director says

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy FBI director Christopher Wray has said a laboratory leak in …

China dismisses FBI statement on COVID-19 lab leak theory
1 year, 9 months ago

China dismisses FBI statement on COVID-19 lab leak theory

Firstpost  

Beijing: For the second day in a row, China on Wednesday dismissed U.S. suggestions that the COVID-19 pandemic may have been triggered by a virus that leaked from a Chinese laboratory. Responding to comments by FBI Director Christopher Wray, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the involvement of the U.S. intelligence community was evidence enough of the “politicization of origin …

China says \'lab leak\' claims hurt US credibility
1 year, 9 months ago

China says \'lab leak\' claims hurt US credibility

Deccan Chronicle  

BEIJING: Beijing accused Washington on Wednesday of harming its own credibility after a top US intelligence official said his agency believed the pandemic "most likely" caused by a laboratory incident in Wuhan, China. FBI Director Christopher Wray told Fox News on Tuesday that the Bureau has now assessed the source of Covid-19 was "most likely a potential lab incident in …

Covid-19 'most likely' leaked from Chinese government controlled lab in Wuhan, says FBI director
1 year, 9 months ago

Covid-19 'most likely' leaked from Chinese government controlled lab in Wuhan, says FBI director

Firstpost  

Washington: Covid-19 pandemic “most likely” originated from a Chinese government controlled lab in Wuhan, said FBI Director Christopher Wray. ‘Covid origin likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan’ In an interview to Fox News, Wray said: “The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.” …

No definitive conclusion on COVID-19 origin theory: White House
1 year, 9 months ago

No definitive conclusion on COVID-19 origin theory: White House

The Hindu  

There is no definitive conclusion that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from a lab in China, the White House has said. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby’s remarks came following a report that the U.S. Energy Department has concluded the virus most likely leaked from a lab in China. The Wall Street Journal on Feb. 26, citing a …

No government consensus on COVID lab leak theory, says White House
1 year, 9 months ago

No government consensus on COVID lab leak theory, says White House

Firstpost  

New Delhi: Even as the Department of Energy determined that a lab leak was the most likely cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, the White House has downplayed and refused to acknowledge this information, claiming that there is still no government consensus on the origins of the outbreak. “The intelligence community and the rest of the government is still looking at …

‘No conclusion on Covid origin theory’: White House on lab leak report
1 year, 9 months ago

‘No conclusion on Covid origin theory’: White House on lab leak report

Live Mint  

A day after the US Department of Energy said the coronavirus pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, the White House on Monday asserted that there is no definitive conclusion on the origin of Covid-19, according to the news agency ANI. Speaking to media persons at a daily White House news conference, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications …

The latest in the COVID 'lab leak' theory: What we know and don't know about the origins of the pandemic
1 year, 9 months ago

The latest in the COVID 'lab leak' theory: What we know and don't know about the origins of the pandemic

Firstpost  

Washington: The US Energy Department’s conclusion, with “low confidence,” that an accidental laboratory leak in China most likely caused the coronavirus pandemic has renewed questions about what sparked the worst public health crisis in a century — and whether the virus at the heart of it was somehow connected to scientific research. Scientists who have studied the genetics of the …

Science 'should not be politicised': China rejects US report's lab-leak theory on COVID-19 origin
1 year, 9 months ago

Science 'should not be politicised': China rejects US report's lab-leak theory on COVID-19 origin

Firstpost  

Beijing: China on Monday rejected a new US report that claims the COVID-19 virus may have leaked from a bio laboratory in Wuhan, saying the origins-tracing of the pandemic “is about science and should not be politicised.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the international experts have considered the theory that the pandemic might have leaked from a Chinese laboratory …

Lab-leak theory: What the evidence actually says now.
1 year, 9 months ago

Lab-leak theory: What the evidence actually says now.

Slate  

On Feb. 26, the Wall Street Journal ran a story that looked, at first glance, like a bombshell: “Lab Leak Most Likely Origin of Covid-19 Pandemic, Energy Department Now Says.” So, did something big just happen? But we do know that the DOE has “low confidence” in its assessment that the virus came from a lab, as the WSJ reported, …

Another blow to China: COVID-19 likely came from lab leak in Wuhan, claims US study
1 year, 9 months ago

Another blow to China: COVID-19 likely came from lab leak in Wuhan, claims US study

India TV News  

China virus: The virus that drove the COVID-19 pandemic, killing close to 7 million people globally, most likely emerged from a laboratory leak in China, according to a US media report, citing a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress. The Central Intelligence Agency and another agency that officials would not name remain …

Animal origins or lab leak? How Covid started remains a mystery after 3 years
1 year, 9 months ago

Animal origins or lab leak? How Covid started remains a mystery after 3 years

India Today  

A crucial question has eluded governments and health agencies around the world since the Covid-19 pandemic began: Did the virus originate in animals or leak from a Chinese lab? “There is just not an intelligence community consensus.” The DOE’s conclusion was first reported over the weekend in the Wall Street Journal, which said the classified report was based on new …

China replies to US on COVID lab leak theory: 'Already contributed immensely to global virus tracing research'
1 year, 9 months ago

China replies to US on COVID lab leak theory: 'Already contributed immensely to global virus tracing research'

India TV News  

China COVID origin: A day after the United States released a report in which it reiterated that the COVID virus leaked from a lab in China, the latter has refuted the claims and said it is "transparent" in the matter pertaining to the lethal virus. The critical remarks from Beijing came as the US Department of Energy reassessed the theory …

White House says there is STILL no 'consensus' on how COVID began
1 year, 9 months ago

White House says there is STILL no 'consensus' on how COVID began

Daily Mail  

Other agencies think the virus mutated in the environment The White House on Monday was forced to admit the lack of a consensus between disparate U.S. agencies about the origins of COVID-19 following a report that Energy Department Scientists believe a laboratory leak in China was the likely cause. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended infectious disease expert Dr. …

U.S. agency says COVID came from “lab leak”, China slams “smear”
1 year, 9 months ago

U.S. agency says COVID came from “lab leak”, China slams “smear”

The Hindu  

China on Monday accused the United States of “smearing” the country and “politicising” scientific research, after a government agency in Washington published a report concluding that the COVID-19 pandemic likely began from a laboratory accident. A classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and members of Congress, reported The Wall Street Journal on Monday, said the U.S. Energy …

After FBI, US Energy Dept Says Lab Leak Likely Led to Covid-19 Pandemic
1 year, 9 months ago

After FBI, US Energy Dept Says Lab Leak Likely Led to Covid-19 Pandemic

News 18  

The US Energy Department in a report concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic most likely happened due to laboratory leak, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a classified intelligence report which was given to the White House and key members of the US Congress. According to the report, different parts of the intelligence community have differing opinions on the origin of …

US agency believes COVID-19 likely emerged from lab leak in China, say reports
1 year, 9 months ago

US agency believes COVID-19 likely emerged from lab leak in China, say reports

Firstpost  

Washington: The coronavirus pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, the US Department of Energy now says according to media, although the White House maintained Sunday that American intelligence remained divided on the issue. The determination – noted in a classified report by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines’s office, The Wall Street Journal reported – marks a shift …

US says Chinese lab leak most likely caused Covid-19: Report
1 year, 9 months ago

US says Chinese lab leak most likely caused Covid-19: Report

Hindustan Times  

The coronavirus pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, the US Department of Energy now says according to media, although the White House maintained Sunday that American intelligence remained divided on the issue. The determination -- noted in a classified report by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines's office, The Wall Street Journal reported -- marks a shift by …

China rejects US lab-leak theory news report on Covid-19 origin
1 year, 9 months ago

China rejects US lab-leak theory news report on Covid-19 origin

India Today  

China on Monday rejected a new US report that claims the Covid-19 virus may have leaked from a bio laboratory in Wuhan, saying the origins-tracing of the pandemic "is about science and should not be politicised." The USDE has assessed in the intelligence report that it had “low confidence” that the Covid-19 virus accidentally escaped from a lab in Wuhan, …

US claims Covid likely emerged from China laboratory leak: Report
1 year, 9 months ago

US claims Covid likely emerged from China laboratory leak: Report

Live Mint  

The coronavirus pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, the US Department of Energy now says according to media, although the White House maintained Sunday that American intelligence remained divided on the issue. The determination -- noted in a classified report by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines's office, The Wall Street Journal reported -- marks a shift by …

It’s confirmed! China Lab leak triggered Covid pandemic, but was it an accident?
1 year, 9 months ago

It’s confirmed! China Lab leak triggered Covid pandemic, but was it an accident?

Live Mint  

The coronavirus pandemic most likely was caused by a leak in a Chinese laboratory, a classified intelligence report of the US Energy Department has revealed, according to the Wall Street Journal. This report nonetheless, affirms that the covid pandemic was a leak, an accident and not part of Chinese biological-weapons program, the people who have read the classified report said …

WHO has not abandoned COVID-19 origin investigation
1 year, 10 months ago

WHO has not abandoned COVID-19 origin investigation

The Hindu  

On February 14, Nature News reported that the World Health Organization has “shelved the second phase” of COVID-19 origin investigation “citing ongoing challenges over attempts to conduct crucial studies in China”. Two years after the WHO’s visit to China to investigate the origin of COVID-19, the WHO has “abandoned” the second phase of the investigation, it said and quoted WHO’s …

COVID-19 origin theories: Was there a lab leak in Wuhan or the US?
2 years, 1 month ago

COVID-19 origin theories: Was there a lab leak in Wuhan or the US?

Firstpost  

While the Wuhan lab leak theory is in vogue in some quarters, others are pointing the finger at the US. Let’s take a look at the different theories about the origins of COVID-19 Wuhan lab leak hypotheses This, of course, is the origin theory in vogue in some quarters. “The available evidence appears to be inconsistent with both historic precedent …

Covid a result of China 'lab leak’, hints US Senate report
2 years, 1 month ago

Covid a result of China 'lab leak’, hints US Senate report

Hindustan Times  

Republicans in the US Senate on Thursday presented a report on how Covid-19 virus could have started from a laboratory leak, although underscoring that the findings still lack indisputable evidence. The report is seen as an attempt by the Republican party to pressurise the Biden administration and congressional Democrats to take the Covid virus lab leak theory more seriously, reported …

How did COVID-19 start? Another report supports ‘Lab Leak’ theory
2 years, 1 month ago

How did COVID-19 start? Another report supports ‘Lab Leak’ theory

Live Mint  

It seems like everyone has an opinion on how COVID-19 came to exist. Republicans in the US Senate who looked into the origin of the virus speculate that COVID-19 might have originated from a lab leak, however they stress that there isn't conclusive proof of this. It’s concerning since the lab leak theory is “not motivated by scientific fact”, said …

Lancet report claiming Covid could have come from US lab prompts anger
2 years, 2 months ago

Lancet report claiming Covid could have come from US lab prompts anger

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The Commission report measured 58 pages and included …

China calls COVID ‘lab leak’ theory a lie after WHO report
2 years, 6 months ago

China calls COVID ‘lab leak’ theory a lie after WHO report

Associated Press  

BEIJING — China on Friday attacked the theory that the coronavirus pandemic may have originated as a leak from a Chinese laboratory as a politically motivated lie, after the World Health Organization recommended in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is needed into whether a lab accident may be to blame. “The lab leak theory is totally a …

China calls Covid 'lab leak' theory a lie after WHO report
2 years, 6 months ago

China calls Covid 'lab leak' theory a lie after WHO report

India Today  

China on Friday attacked the theory that the coronavirus pandemic may have originated as a leak from a Chinese laboratory as a politically motivated lie, after the World Health Organization recommended in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is needed into whether a lab accident may be to blame. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian also rejected accusations that …

Covid origin mystery: WHO probe stalled, experts ‘allergic’ to lab theory
2 years, 6 months ago

Covid origin mystery: WHO probe stalled, experts ‘allergic’ to lab theory

Live Mint  

Another blow to two-year-long efforts to understand how Covid-19 began. Jean-Claude Manuguerra, a co-chair of the 27-member international advisory group, acknowledged that some scientists might be “allergic” to the idea of investigating the lab leak theory, but said they needed to be “open-minded” enough to examine it. He also accused WHO of “ colluding” with China to cover up the …

COVID origin | WHO says it’s unclear but lab leak theory needs study
2 years, 6 months ago

COVID origin | WHO says it’s unclear but lab leak theory needs study

The Hindu  

Over two years after the coronavirus was first detected in China, and after at least 6.3 million deaths have been counted worldwide from the pandemic, the World Health Organisation is recommending in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is required into whether a lab accident may be to blame. Yet in a report released on Thursday, WHO's expert …

COVID-19's origins obscured by lack of Chinese data, says WHO panel
2 years, 6 months ago

COVID-19's origins obscured by lack of Chinese data, says WHO panel

ABC  

The World Health Organization says its latest investigation into the origins of COVID-19 was inconclusive, largely because data from China is missing, another blow to its years-long effort to determine how the pandemic began. Key points: The WHO expert panel says all available data showed the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 likely came from bats They say missing data meant …

WHO: COVID origins unclear but lab leak theory needs study
2 years, 6 months ago

WHO: COVID origins unclear but lab leak theory needs study

Associated Press  

GENEVA — Over two years after the coronavirus was first detected in China, and after at least 6.3 million deaths have been counted worldwide from the pandemic, the World Health Organization is recommending in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is required into whether a lab accident may be to blame. Yet in a report released Thursday, WHO’s …

WHO: Covid origins unclear, but lab leak theory needs study
2 years, 6 months ago

WHO: Covid origins unclear, but lab leak theory needs study

India Today  

An expert group drafted by the World Health Organisation to help investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic says further research is needed to determine how Covid-19 first began, including a more detailed analysis of the possibility it was a laboratory accident. In a report released Thursday, WHO's expert group said “key pieces of data” to explain how the pandemic …

Pandemic’s origins obscured by lack of Chinese data: WHO panel
2 years, 6 months ago

Pandemic’s origins obscured by lack of Chinese data: WHO panel

Live Mint  

The World Health Organization said on Thursday its latest investigation into the origins of COVID-19 was inconclusive, largely because data from China is missing, another blow to its years-long effort to determine how the pandemic began. The report from the WHO expert panel said all available data showed the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 probably came from animals, likely bats, …

COVID origins: WHO ‘open to any and all scientific evidence’
2 years, 6 months ago

COVID origins: WHO ‘open to any and all scientific evidence’

Al Jazeera  

UN health agency says latest investigation into origins of COVID-19 was inconclusive and more research must be done, including the possibility of a laboratory accident. That stance by the World Health Organization expert group marks a sharp reversal of the UN health agency’s initial assessment of the pandemic’s origins, when it concluded last year it was “extremely unlikely” that COVID-19 …

COVID-19 origins unclear, but lab leak theory needs study, WHO says
2 years, 6 months ago

COVID-19 origins unclear, but lab leak theory needs study, WHO says

LA Times  

A worker in protective gear walks outside the Wuhan Central Hospital in China in February 2021. The scientists said the group would “remain open to any and all scientific evidence that becomes available in the future to allow for comprehensive testing of all reasonable hypotheses.” Identifying a disease’s source in animals typically takes years; it took about 15 years for …

COVID-19: The endless search for the origins of the virus
2 years, 8 months ago

COVID-19: The endless search for the origins of the virus

Al Jazeera  

Two years after a pandemic was declared, scientists continue to debate how the coronavirus behind COVID-19 came to infect humans. “It isn’t fantastical to say there’s a cover-up.” For Chan and all those who argue that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could have originated from a lab, so long as an intermediary animal host that had passed the virus from bats to …

One in 20 believe conspiracy theory that Covid released as part of depopulation plan is ‘definitely true’
2 years, 9 months ago

One in 20 believe conspiracy theory that Covid released as part of depopulation plan is ‘definitely true’

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy One in 20 adults in …

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