Coronavirus: COVID-19

SGR · 05-29-2021, 06:45 PM

So the lab leak origin theory is now getting mainstream attention again.

Somewhat strange that a year ago, you could be censored on social media for humoring the idea and much of the media at large would label you a conspiracy theorist or a peddler of misinformation for supporting the idea.

Anteater · 05-29-2021, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoundgardenRocks

So the lab leak origin theory is now getting mainstream attention again.

Somewhat strange that a year ago, you could be censored on social media for humoring the idea and much of the media at large would label you a conspiracy theorist or a peddler of misinformation for supporting the idea.

That's what's so ridiculous about the sudden 180 on the subject. It was never a conspiracy theory, but rather the most likely explanation considering all of the circumstances. Scientists and the media were just mad because Trump was on board with that hypothesis and conflated the issue with everything else they didn't like about him.

**Exo** · 05-29-2021, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anteater

It was never a conspiracy theory though - it has always been the most likely explanation considering all of the circumstances. Scientists and the media were just mad because Trump was on board with that hypothesis and conflated the issue with everything else they didn't like about him.

To be fair, there sure was a lot to try to wrap your head around.

adidasss · 05-29-2021, 07:01 PM

Well I'm gonna be honest, for me it did sound like an unlikely conspiracy theory, but the more the chinese fight this the more likely it sounds.

Anteater · 05-29-2021, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exo

To be fair, there sure was a lot to try to wrap your head around.

True. I think if the info had been made public last year about those three lab workers that came down sick before people at the meat market did, maybe there would have been a more serious investigation earlier.

**Exo** · 05-29-2021, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anteater

True. I think if the info had been made public last year about those three lab workers that came down sick before people at the meat market did, maybe there would have been a more serious investigation earlier.

It still wouldn't have made him give a sh*t about it ravaging the country. Or would it? If it meant sh*tting on China, would more Americans have taken the lockdown and mask wearing more seriously?

rostasi · 05-29-2021, 07:10 PM

Quote:

...we’re not talking about the lab leak theory now because there’s direct evidence for it, or even much evidence for it at all. We are talking about it because there is an ongoing scientific inquiry into how the pandemic started, and because a number of journalists are following those lines of inquiry or see talking about it as a corrective to past bias. Simply: There is a very small possibility that the virus came from a lab, a possibility some scientists (and now many other people) are interested in exploring further. A recent New York Times headline might sum it up best: “Scientists Don’t Want to Ignore the ‘Lab Leak’ Theory, Despite No New Evidence.” Or, as Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said Friday: “Over the last number of days, we have seen more and more discourse in the media, with terribly little actual news, or evidence, or new material, and this is disturbing.”

SGR · 05-29-2021, 07:12 PM

I have a feeling this goes deeper than just the media's disdain for Trump, though that probably played a part.

From what I've heard, Fauci was a part of the NIH and was involved in funding the lab and the gain-of-function research happening there. As far as I understand, the Obama administration had some part in greenlighting the operation, including the safety protocols. I don't know if that's true - but if it is, then the US would obviously have a motive in trying to cover up its role in the lab research.

Personally, I think, naive as it might be, that we should not ban this kind of virus research (well....maybe ban the gain-of-function stuff, but I'm not committed to that position), but we should approach it more similarly to nukes. Locations of viral research labs, the projects they're working on, what they've discovered etc. should have a hell of a lot more transparency than it currently does.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rostasi

You've just missed the point.

The point was not that reporters/researchers ignored the lab theory. The point is that after scientists claimed that zoonotic origin was a more likely scenario a year ago (without concrete evidence), social media and news media took that and ran with it, actively suppressing discussions of the lab leak theory and castigating those that dared to espouse it.

This issue should not even have been political, but it was quickly made political. And then the respective news medias of both sides hastened to assign opinions to their viewers.

**Exo** · 05-29-2021, 07:13 PM

You mean headlines aren't evidence?

SGR · 05-29-2021, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exo

You mean headlines aren't evidence?

I know. Surprising, right?

I forget where I read this specific poll result - but the majority of US citizens do believe in zoonotic origin. The fact that there's a viral research lab that was working with Bat coronaviruses a block away from the wet market that COVID-19 purportedly originated from was not enough to raise a majority of eyebrows.

05-29-2021, 07:01 PM	#3774 (permalink)
adidasss Slavic gay sauce Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Abu Dhabi Posts: 7,945	Well I'm gonna be honest, for me it did sound like an unlikely conspiracy theory, but the more the chinese fight this the more likely it sounds. __________________ “Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Last.fm

05-29-2021, 07:13 PM	#3779 (permalink)
Exo All day jazz and biscuits Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ Posts: 7,354	You mean headlines aren't evidence? __________________ LastFM SUPREME POO BAH MODERATOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

05-29-2021, 06:45 PM	#3771 (permalink)
SGR No Ice In My Bourbon Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: /dev/null Posts: 4,327	So the lab leak origin theory is now getting mainstream attention again. Somewhat strange that a year ago, you could be censored on social media for humoring the idea and much of the media at large would label you a conspiracy theorist or a peddler of misinformation for supporting the idea.