I did a 'dig' tonight to compile a bunch of examples from the FAKE NEWS who branded the notion a "conspiracy theory" (and 'bat-shit crazy,' pun intended) that the China Virus came from a Wuhan lab and that it's was man-made. Surprise, surprise - some 'fake news' media outlets and bullshit "fact checker" sites have been fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally (and oh-so-quietly) retracting, editing or softening their language in their bullshit stories claiming the allegations that CoronaVirus COVID-19 was manmade and originated from a Wuhan lab is a "de-bunked conspiracy theory."
Well, "conspiracy theory" NO MORE! And we "conspiracy theorist"-labeled people (who have been attacked relentlessly, cancelled, de-platformed, censored, and silenced across all of the mainstream media and social media) knew this shit 15 months ago - in Jan. 2020.
All these 'fake news' lie-pushers listed below (just a sampling of 16 examples) participated in the silencing of what they labeled as "conspiracy theories" about the real origins of COVID-19 and many have been (quite reluctantly) retracting or toning down their wording on the subject and have stopped branding it as a "de-bunked conspiracy theory".
5/31/21 - Politifact (haha - "fact" my ass!): https://archive.is/dSOcx - Politifact's original statement about this "conspiracy theory" said: “The claim is inaccurate and ridiculous. We rate it Pants on Fire!”
5/27/21: MSNBC "Morning Joe" + Associated Press "Reporter": https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/mark-finkelstein/2021/05/27/desperate-ap-reporter-deny-trump-credit-early-call-wuhan-lab - "Jonathan Lemire's goal was to deprive President Trump of credit for his early call in suggesting that the coronavirus originated in the Wuhan lab. ... Biden and Fauci are belatedly recognizing the serious possibility that the virus did indeed originate in the Wuhan lab. Lemire went on to accuse Trump and his allies of "practicing some revisionist history."
5/28/20 - New York Times: https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-times-apoorva-mandavilli-twitter-account - Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and health reporter who spent much of the past year covering the pandemic, tweeted on Wednesday, "Someday we will stop talking about the lab leak theory and maybe even admit its racist roots. But alas, that day is not yet here." 5/28/21 - https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-times-reporter-apologizes-lab-leak-coronavirus-racist - "A New York Times global health reporter apologized Wednesday for tweets disparaging the coronavirus "lab leak" theory as implausible and racist." Interest in lab leak theory surges after media dismissed it as fringe theory
6/1/21 - Washington Post: "The Washington Post issued a correction 15 months after alleging Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was peddling a "debunked" "conspiracy theory" about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic." "The term 'debunked' and WaPo's use of "conspiracy theory" have been removed because, then as now, there was no determination about the origins of the virus." The headline was changed to "Tom Cotton keeps repeating a coronavirus fringe theory that scientists have disputed." Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler similarly raised eyebrows for declaring that the theory is "suddenly credible."
5/24/21: Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/24/fix-china-lab-leak-0524/ - Excerpts: "Media reports often referred to the idea that the virus leaked from a lab as “debunked.” Others described such theories as “conspiracies” or “conspiracy theories.” "It has become evident that some corners of the mainstream media overcorrected when it came to one particular theory from Trump and his allies: that the coronavirus emanated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, rather than naturally." (What a pathetically weak version of a 'retraction'! "Overcorrected"??? Gimme a break!)
5/25/21 - Vox: https://archive.is/1UmTg - Vox on Monday appended an editor’s note to an article that claimed the idea that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus originated in a laboratory in China had been “debunked.”
4/20/20 - BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52224331 - "From the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, conspiracy theories about the origin and scale of the disease were spread on online platforms. Among these were the false claim that the virus was part of a Chinese "covert biological weapons program." The claim that the virus was man-made has been pushed by numerous conspiracy groups on Facebook, obscure Twitter accounts and even found its way on to primetime Russian state TV. And months into the outbreak, not only have these theories not faded away, but new, unverified claims have been promoted by government officials, senior politicians and media outlets in China and the US." (Where's their retraction?)
1/13/21 - American Psychology Association: https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/conspiracy-theories - "Over the past year as COVID-19 rocketed around the world, conspiracy theories quickly followed... And some people are asserting that the virus itself was engineered by the Chinese... Is there any way to combat conspiracy theories once they're out there? And what are the consequences for individuals and societies when they spread?" (Where's their retraction?)
I did a 'dig' tonight to compile a bunch of examples from the FAKE NEWS who branded the notion a "conspiracy theory" (and 'bat-shit crazy,' pun intended) that the China Virus came from a Wuhan lab and that it's was man-made. Surprise, surprise - some 'fake news' media outlets and bullshit "fact checker" sites have been fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinally (and oh-so-quietly) retracting, editing or softening their language in their bullshit stories claiming the allegations that CoronaVirus COVID-19 was manmade and originated from a Wuhan lab is a "de-bunked conspiracy theory."
Well, "conspiracy theory" NO MORE! And we "conspiracy theorist"-labeled people (who have been attacked relentlessly, cancelled, de-platformed, censored, and silenced across all of the mainstream media and social media) knew this shit 15 months ago - in Jan. 2020.
Here's Secretary of State Pompeo's 1/15/21 "Fact Sheet" on the subject (a whole year after the allegations had already been circulating but were swiftly silenced across the 'news' media and online): https://2017-2021.state.gov/fact-sheet-activity-at-the-wuhan-institute-of-virology/index.html
All these 'fake news' lie-pushers listed below (just a sampling of 16 examples) participated in the silencing of what they labeled as "conspiracy theories" about the real origins of COVID-19 and many have been (quite reluctantly) retracting or toning down their wording on the subject and have stopped branding it as a "de-bunked conspiracy theory".
5/31/21 - Politifact (haha - "fact" my ass!): https://archive.is/dSOcx - Politifact's original statement about this "conspiracy theory" said: “The claim is inaccurate and ridiculous. We rate it Pants on Fire!”
2/21/20 - NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/21/805287609/theres-a-flood-of-fake-news-about-coronavirus-and-a-plan-to-stop-it - Headline: "Fake Facts Are Flying About Coronavirus. Now There's A Plan To Debunk Them" - Excerpt: "The false statements range from a conspiracy theory that the virus is a man-made bioweapon" (Where's their retraction?)
4/22/20 - NPR: https://www.npr.org/2020/04/22/841925672/scientists-debunk-lab-accident-theory-of-pandemic-emergence - Fake News story headline: "Scientists Debunk Lab Accident Theory Of Pandemic Emergence" (Where's their retraction?)
5/26/21 - Facebook: https://www.theepochtimes.com/facebook-no-longer-banning-posts-suggesting-covid-19-was-man-made_3832848.html - "Facebook announced on May 26 that posts pushing the hypothesis that COVID-19 is man-made will no longer be banned on the platform."
5/27/21: MSNBC "Morning Joe" + Associated Press "Reporter": https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/mark-finkelstein/2021/05/27/desperate-ap-reporter-deny-trump-credit-early-call-wuhan-lab - "Jonathan Lemire's goal was to deprive President Trump of credit for his early call in suggesting that the coronavirus originated in the Wuhan lab. ... Biden and Fauci are belatedly recognizing the serious possibility that the virus did indeed originate in the Wuhan lab. Lemire went on to accuse Trump and his allies of "practicing some revisionist history."
(Related article) - https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/mark-finkelstein/2021/05/20/morning-joe-urges-democrats-push-through-jan-6th-investigation - "What's outrageous is that in addition to serving as an MSNBC political analyst, Lemire has retained his gig as a White House "reporter" for Associated Press. How are the two roles compatible? How can readers trust Lemire's objectivity as a "reporter" when he goes on MSNBC and sounds like every other left-wing "analyst?"
April 2020 - CNN (Chris Cuomo) - "The United States is pursuing the theory that the virus started in a Chinese lab, not a market. I know the internet is rife with conspiracy theories and concerns that this was something that was worked on…" (Where's their retraction re: this??) - 5/27/21: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/chris-cuomo-us-government-lab-leak-seriously - Chris Cuomo claims US government never took virus lab leak theory seriously despite reporting on investigation last year: https://www.foxnews.com/media/associated-press-jonathan-lemire-lab-leak-theory
3/26/21 - New York Times: https://www.foxnews.com/media/washington-post-josh-rogin-new-york-times-covid-wuhan-lab - Outside reporter blasts the NYT for claiming the manmade coronavirus+lab leak "conspiracy theory" had been "debunked." (I haven't found any retraction of NYT's bullshit story yet)
4/8/20 - New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/world/europe/coronavirus-conspiracy-theories.html - Headline: "Why Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories Flourish. And Why It Matters." (Where's their retraction?)
5/28/20 - New York Times: https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-times-apoorva-mandavilli-twitter-account - Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and health reporter who spent much of the past year covering the pandemic, tweeted on Wednesday, "Someday we will stop talking about the lab leak theory and maybe even admit its racist roots. But alas, that day is not yet here." 5/28/21 - https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-york-times-reporter-apologizes-lab-leak-coronavirus-racist - "A New York Times global health reporter apologized Wednesday for tweets disparaging the coronavirus "lab leak" theory as implausible and racist." Interest in lab leak theory surges after media dismissed it as fringe theory
6/1/21 - Washington Post: "The Washington Post issued a correction 15 months after alleging Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was peddling a "debunked" "conspiracy theory" about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic." "The term 'debunked' and WaPo's use of "conspiracy theory" have been removed because, then as now, there was no determination about the origins of the virus." The headline was changed to "Tom Cotton keeps repeating a coronavirus fringe theory that scientists have disputed." Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler similarly raised eyebrows for declaring that the theory is "suddenly credible."
3/9/21: Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/03/09/biden-administration-confirms-some-trump-wuhan-lab-claims/ - WaPo Headline: "Biden administration confirms some but not all of Trump’s Wuhan lab claims"
5/24/21: Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/24/fix-china-lab-leak-0524/ - Excerpts: "Media reports often referred to the idea that the virus leaked from a lab as “debunked.” Others described such theories as “conspiracies” or “conspiracy theories.” "It has become evident that some corners of the mainstream media overcorrected when it came to one particular theory from Trump and his allies: that the coronavirus emanated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, rather than naturally." (What a pathetically weak version of a 'retraction'! "Overcorrected"??? Gimme a break!)
5/28/21 - CBS: https://www.foxnews.com/media/cbs-admits-covid-lab-leak-theory-vindication-trump-officials - CBS admits COVID lab-leak theory developments are 'vindication of sorts for Trump-era officials'
5/25/21 - Vox: https://archive.is/1UmTg - Vox on Monday appended an editor’s note to an article that claimed the idea that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus originated in a laboratory in China had been “debunked.”
4/20/20 - BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52224331 - "From the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, conspiracy theories about the origin and scale of the disease were spread on online platforms. Among these were the false claim that the virus was part of a Chinese "covert biological weapons program." The claim that the virus was man-made has been pushed by numerous conspiracy groups on Facebook, obscure Twitter accounts and even found its way on to primetime Russian state TV. And months into the outbreak, not only have these theories not faded away, but new, unverified claims have been promoted by government officials, senior politicians and media outlets in China and the US." (Where's their retraction?)
1/13/21 - American Psychology Association: https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/conspiracy-theories - "Over the past year as COVID-19 rocketed around the world, conspiracy theories quickly followed... And some people are asserting that the virus itself was engineered by the Chinese... Is there any way to combat conspiracy theories once they're out there? And what are the consequences for individuals and societies when they spread?" (Where's their retraction?)
5/26/21: Wall Street Journal lists numerous media outlets who shunned the allegation of CV-19 being man-made and coming from the Wuhan lab and labeled it a "conspiracy theory": https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-virus-lab-theorys-new-credibility-11622066808