Covid․gov now points to a ‘lab leak’ conspiracy website
Covid․gov now points to a ‘lab leak’ conspiracy website
That’s just wild. The one silver lining to T2 is that I’m not shocked by anything anymore. It’s still outrageous, but the surprise is gone.
.... Is this the new age dark ages?
Yup.
I feel like I'm screaming, "help" at the top of a mountain, yet nobody can hear me. I feel like almost all online interactions are false. I feel like my day to day life is shrinking from country scale to community to household scale. This is where we are divided and we don't care for another, but only ourselves. Not out of greed, but out of perceived necessity. It's all fake.
We're Doomed then
For the US maybe, but right now it seems like the wider world may survive.
I moderate the bad religion community (they have a song called The New Dark Ages). Its pretty bitchin. it was written during the W Bush presidency but their material get progressively more relevant as time goes on
That website is batshit. It looks like a tabloid website. It's not just promoting the lab leak theory. It also calls out Fauci, Andrew Cuomo, and Biden. It is basically a political hit piece. Fucking embarrassing.
It would basically be like Biden changing a site about Russia to include info about Trump's pee tape.
That website is batshit
So it is on point?
I’m just sitting here watching the end of the world
I saw a billboard outside of my city yesterday saying something like "did your loved ones really die of COVID-19?" and had some "covid is a hoax" website named on it. What a fucking dark timeline we're in.
I overheard a guy in 2021 say to someone that his brother said, "I just came from a funeral for a friend who died from covid." The next thing the guy said was, "I told him, no, your friend died with covid, not from covid.
It really upset me. I just tried to ignore him but it actually kinda ruined my day.
That's fucked up. I'm sorry.
The US government really is just being vandalised.
This is a group of people who feel they've been unfairly made fun of for too long finally getting their revenge.
Lab leak: picture of Trump. Hm, I always suspected that’s how he came into this world. Good thing they’re officially confirming it.
You made me chuckle while reading comments and I thank you for it.
The "ANDREW CUOMO: FAILURE" at the bottom of the government site is some random shade, but I enjoy that at least. Fuck Andrew Cuomo
Yeah, fuck Cuomo, but a lot of the reasons for New York's poor performance at the start of COVID were structural issues that were out of his control.
Agreed. He's such a piece of shit. I mean, fuck Trump, but also, fuck Cuomo.
It is insane how many comments here believe that humans somehow made COVID-19 in a lab and leaked it. It is obvious and clear that the critical sequences responsible for the jump to humans exist in wild type form in nature. In fact, the critical spike protein sequence is so similar between coronavirus that the antigen work which the vaccine was based upon was done BEFORE COVID-19 in Jason McClellan’s lab at Dartmouth.
This WILL happen again, and conspiracy theories that have now shut down labs and funding are likely to cause millions of lost lives next time. We got lucky and the tinfoil hats are going to guarantee we’ll be unlucky next time.
Yeah, I used to believe that too. Until I read how irresponsible these scientists were. Before the outbreak, they were planning to release an enhanced version into bat caves filled with bats to observe how the coronavirus mutated. They were infecting bats in the lab with coronavirus. Nobody said they created this from scratch, but they could have definitely helped evolution along. Even the CIA suspects it could have been a lab leak. I think the problem is that thinking it is "man-made" is hard for many, but it's not difficult to believe that the evolution of the virus was influenced by humans.
it’s not difficult to believe that the evolution of the virus was influenced by humans.
Only for the ignorant. This is how research has worked for decades. Even the CIA (who are not scientists) have "low confidence". Since when does "low confidence" mean it happened or you believe it??
All sequence data, wild type virus, and previous research history clearly show this virus existed in nature and because it is a highly mutable RNA virus, was able to infect humans. No credible scientist says otherwise. Let's be clear - if they were studying the virus in a lab and it "got out" from the lab or from the wild what difference does it make? This is NOT a man made virus and to make the leap to that is just plain ignorance.
So the ignorant human response is to shut down all research on viruses because of the fear of it being "man made". The result? When this happens again in 3 or 100 years (which it will), we will have no R&D to lean on LIKE WE DID FOR THE COVID19 VACCINE. We've ALREADY discovered a number of viruses in the wild that are likely to mutate and cause another pandemic. We should be celebrating research because the previous decade of work on antigen presentation of the spike protein gave us a vaccine in 11 months that we would otherwise likely not have EVEN TODAY.
I guess this is why ancient civilizations had human sacrifice when there was an eclipse. The stupid scared ignorant people determined public policy.
And you believe that batshit?
It is obvious and clear that the critical sequences responsible for the jump to humans exist in wild type form in nature.
In theory. In practice no evidence of these stages has been found.
However it would be feasible to simulate the conditions required in a lab environment.
Controlled funding for gain of function research does not mean all lab work should stop.
Let me know how "gain of function" research is different than using plasmids. I'll wait.
By nearly all measures of science, if there was evidence of a natural origin it would have already surfaced
Ah yes, we've already discovered everything. Science is over, everyone, let's go home.
That'll be a relief for high school students everywhere.
By nearly all measures of religion, if there was evidence for a god, it would have already surfaced.
The longer it takes to find the zoonotic link the higher the probability of lab origin.
The longer it takes to find the lab origin link the higher the probability of zoonotic origin. /s
The problem with conspiracy theories is they're non-falsifiable. That something is possible is not evidence that it is probable, that something is probable is not evidence that it happened.
Maybe a lab had something go wrong. Maybe that was because they were careless. Maybe that's because Trump withdrew funding and oversight from the programs that helped labs like this. That should all be investigated. There's a difference between asking for a due diligence after action report and assigning blame because "it had to be someone's fault."
We already have plenty of evidence to conclude zoonotic origin. Bat RNA. Positive cultures in the wet market. Covid genome.
The tall letters in all caps.
The dramatic fade to blue.
Trump standing in the middle.
The fancy font on 𝓒𝓸𝓿𝓲𝓭.
Oooh the tackiness is too much to bear
Like if nothing else this admin has hired a good designer tho
So the narrative is COVID was a dangerous lab leak - but also, you don't have to wear a mask?
Consistency is not a strong point of these dumbasses.
It's pretty standard to play both extremes simultaneously, and people just pick whichever they want to relate to at any given moment.
eg.
I'm sure others can think of more, and variations on those.
If they thought clearly, they wouldn't be prime targets for conspiracy theories and propaganda. We're talking about people who can't think rationally.
USA are sooo close to reinstate flat earth!
Why would he want his photo in the middle of that text? He's associating himself with negativity, I feel like this is marketing/propaganda 101. It honestly looks like a movie poster where he's the one leaking it.
China had a Wuhan Covid research lab with lax safety standards, is it really a conspiracy?
Usually you'd assume a high probability at least?
Ok, so people not overwhelmed by the election may remember that even under Biden last year, it was suggested as a solid, if not more likely possibility. Now, their position ultimately was "we don't think we'll ever find the truth" but I think part of that is also knowing that finding out is generally not with the trouble.
Naturally Trump doesn't care about truth or being nuanced with an "probability" of something, so they're going to be a bit more definitive.
yes it was very clear it is a leak from the research that lab is doing, their research paper about covid prior to the leak still available!
What is a real conspiracy theory is why they refuse to acknowledge the possibility of a leak ! All of them kept saying "It is not a leak" "if you say it is a leak it is a conspiracy theory" it was so bad how they attack anyone suggest it is a leak, I remember people getting banned in reddit for pointing out news or research about the origin or patient zero.
Yeah, i agree. I'm not sure of the website but there's at least a 7/10 chance that lab played a part in this. Feels bad you're being downvoted by bots that already made up their mind.
Not really. German intelligence just concluded a lab leak was the most likely source. Genetic analysis lines up with that, it's genetically odd. We will likely never get a "broad st pump" or patient zero for COVID but in April 2025 if you were filing a civil case against the Wuhan institute of virology you would win by the evidence it's more likely than not.
What does it matter if it came from a research lab or a market? It’s a highly mutagenic rna virus and it WILL happen again. Wtf man. There are literally thousands of labs studying coronavirus snd one of them did the research that led to the vaccine that saved millions.
First this, then releasing 10000 pages worth of John F. Kennedy files. lol these are right out of the dictator's handbook to public agenda manipulation. Trump can't even do the dictator thing very well, it is such a rookie level move.
I would have preferred a simple 1 page faq with who did it and how was the government involved if at all.
I always wondered what it would be like to live in oppressive regimes like Russia or China. Also never thought I'd live through a pandemic. Checking all the boxes lately.
So… Chinese Americans (and anyone vaguely Asian looking) the next to be sent to concentration camps?
Sinophobia was already rampant and bipartisan.
Deliberately fueled by the government.
Like the embarrassing 'spy' balloon farce as an example.
He really has to put his ugly ass face on everything.
I don't think there's enough evidence to conclusively say that it was natural or that it was a lab leak. There is actually quite a lot of evidence that it was a lab leak, but this website looks like such BS.
There's also good evidence that Jeanne Calment was not the world's oldest woman, but was instead her mother. Also, it's well-understood that lightbulb manufacturers conspired to lower lifespans of bulbs throughout the 20th century. Just because there was a conspiracy don't mean it ain't real.
The lightbulb cartell existed, but it wasn't like we could have had lightbulbs that would have lasted longer with the same efficiency and light output.
The difference between a conspiracy theory and a conspiracy is that the latter has actual evidence for it. I don't think that's the case for the lab leak "theory".
Here's an analysis of a debate about whether it is or is not a lab leak. There's very compelling arguments on both sides, but I find the lab leak angle to have the most evidence for it.
I think I understand why people assume it can't be a leak -- it sounds like fiction; people have said this about previous events and turned out to be wrong; it would be bad for China if true, so it must be politically motivated. It's okay, you can relax and join me in the ranks of people who are open minded to either outcome.
(Edit: This is a stupid aside, but you define theory as something with no evidence for it, and then put lab leak "theory" in quotes as though you don't think it fits that definition.)
And you'll see why 1984 won't be like "1984".
I got that reference. The poster they gave out a MacWorld SF in 2004 is framed on the wall right behind me in my office. Bonus: you can see my Trans Pride (for others) reflected in the glass. It's hanging in the window.
All those DOGE savings went to this. They really hate science and anything factual.
Yeah, I agree with that, seems to me the most recent plot twists in The Story of America certainly makes people to feel Free... after they are no longer in America. I'm not American, I feel pretty Free, and I do hope Americans one day feel Free again.
Everyone except for the people who get sent to El Salvador....
Something something Manifest Destiny
Regardless of where it actually came from (probably bats) this site is just propaganda.
This is a huge waste of money. They should doge it.
Can someone help me understand what's going on here?
Are they trying to throw shade on China because... they think it will help win the trade war?
So, this is wild speculation, but I'll tell you my guess. I think it's about TSMC, the world's leading semiconductor manufacturer. China has, for years, been saying that Taiwan isn't an independent country, but is instead "Chinese Taipei," a part of China. They've been using this idea for years to gradually build towards an invasion of Taiwan. Taiwan, of course, does consider itself an independent nation. The US officially holds no position on this question, which is kinda bonkers; there's this whole diplomatic dance about whether the US would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. The US might not care if it weren't for TSMC, which runs the plants that produce a huge proportion of the world's CPUs and GPUs and AI chips. All the best chip-making technology and know-how is with TSMC. It's a major vulnerability in the US supply chain.
China has been ramping things up in the past several years. It's suspected that a big part of why they're going along with the Russian invasion of Ukraine is that Russia probably promised to go along with China invading Taiwan in exchange. It's all very sub-rosa, but there's been so much military maneuvering and posturing and so on back and forth around Taiwan that it's been kind of dizzying.
This is, unfortunately, part of why China was enthusiastic about getting Trump back into the White House. Trump's policies of isolating the US from its military allies, instigating worldwide trade chaos, and cozying up to dictators make the conditions a lot more ripe for China to make a move on Taiwan. And since the US has never been able to actually talk about Taiwan before, it's gonna look absolutely batshit to the majority of Americans if China invades Taiwan and the US government suddenly wants to go to war against China over this, which seems like a huge risk. But since, as Trump so eloquently put it, "everything is computer," we basically can't stand by and let China take Taiwan without a fight.
So he's trying to gin up sentiment against China on his own terms to lay the groundwork for a war that seems increasingly inevitable.
Actually this news makes me have a conspiracy theory now.
Here is my new conspiracy theory:
.
Considering how the US government has been consistent of disregards of human life I see this as realistic case of why Trump keep circling back to this.
Here are some additional dots to tie pieces of string to.
Does anyone know where the Wuhan Virology institute actually is? https://preview.redd.it/mie3e4ld3ee41.png?width=1320&format=png&auto=webp&s=9b71b94a05ee7832e7550595fc793b7486704ba8
It seems surprisingly mobile.
WIV hs multiple campuses and labs, including a level 2 lab 400m from the market.
If it did come from a lab it would be Fort Detrick.
The place where the anthrax came from used in the 9/11 letters.
That’s some serious AboveTopSecret bullshit right there.
So did it originate in a Wuhan Lab or not? I keep hearing one thing then another.
Not trying to confuse the issue, I legitimately don't know.
No one know because China are not going to admit if it was a lab leak. Also lab leaks doesn't mean the virus is human made. However there are some un-answerd questions. There were scientists spies that got caught with sample from Canadian labs flying to China, and there was some concern about military funding and other few things that support the leak theory. However it is not conclusive evidence. So it stay at the theory level.
There were scientists spies that got caught with sample from Canadian labs flying to China.
I think this fact is coincidence and not covid related in the slightest.
At this point, I don't care. It's just something that can be weaponized.
Trump is crazy but I still think its possible it was a lab leak. But of course everyone here is 100% confident it wasnt, so no point trying to discuss it.
who cares if it was a lab leak or not, a comet hitting the earth could have been sent by evil aliens, you still have to appropriately deal with the adtermath
Knowing the origins of the last worldwide pandemic is critical to preventing a repeat incident.
Of course, its just that the article wasnt discussing how to deal with the aftermath.
I remember it being a huge deal to figure out where the virus came from. But now people lost interest because they think its figured out. Maybe it is. I dont pretend to know what happened. Will never find out anyway.
who cares if it was a lab leak or not
If gain of function experiments lead to a pandemic and millions of needless deaths, then maybe we should better control gain of function experiments.
As a general rule: Never accuse anyone of a serious crime unless you have evidence to back it up.
OMG, tinfoil hat too tight??
First of all, "gain of function" viral and bacterial research has been a critical part of research for DECADES. There is absolutely no connection nor sequence relationship between ANY of gain of function research done in Wuhan and COVID-19. ALL the fears are hypothetical. Meanwhile, this type of research is the basis for all kinds of medical and research advances for the last 30 years (gene replacement, stem cells, siRNA, on and on).
Second, you don't have a clue how NIH funding works. Grants are submitted to COMMITTEES at the NIH. Fauci was NEVER head of NIH, but even if he was he would have no awareness of nor control over these grants and funding. It's not a dictatorship and one person absolutely cannot determine if a grant gets funded. It's an incredibly arduous process that takes years and many many scientists reviewing and debating the facts and merits of the proposal, including safety protocols. Think peer review times 100. So to claim that Fauci should be held "criminally liable" is laughably ignorant.
NONE of the sequence altering research in the Wuhan lab had any relationship from a sequence perspective to COVID19. Every credible scientist acknowledges that. Is it possible that the wild type virus was being studied in the lab and somehow got out of the lab vs in the wild? Yes, it's possible. Does it matter? No, it does not. It was going to happen and IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN. Meanwhile, people like you make ignorant fear claims that are getting research labs shut down. The same labs, like Jason McClellan's lab at Dartmouth that did 10 years of research altering the mRNA sequence of the spike protein so that it would be accurately presented as an antigen that gave us the vaccine in 11 months. Without this "gene altering" research that could be interpreted as "scary", we probably still wouldn't have a vaccine.
Federal government reported the possibility without Trump in office:
Sources
It's not a wild conspiracy theory. Virological gain of function research & lax safety protocols could lead to unsurprising results that aren't necessarily malicious.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist but
Literally you
But I thought conservatives said COVID was all made up and a plot by the democrats to control the populace through mask-wearing?
Note that mask-wearing only makes it so you can't breathe if Democrats want you to do it for public health reasons. Mask-wearing is hunky dory if you're doing it because you're a Nazi who doesn't want to be personally identified.
Oh sure this is like them claiming that nanograms of mercury in vaccines cause autism but they argue that companies dumping mercury into their local atmosphere, soil, and water are overburdened by liberal government regulations and shouldn't be regulated.
We have always been at war with Eurasia
That was last week