Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous
Associated PressApr 20
Report: Search for COVID Origins Goes Dark in China
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The Facts
The Associated Press has reported that political and scientific infighting, as well as a pattern of responsibility avoidance, have stalled efforts to trace the origins of COVID in China since at least Jan. 6, 2020.
The AP's investigation analyzed undisclosed emails and documents, leaked recordings, and dozens of interviews that suggest that scientists who published papers on the coronavirus ran into conflict with Chinese authorities.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Whether SARS-CoV-2 accidentally leaked from the Wuhan lab or evolved naturally from an existing virus and spread from wild animals to humans at a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, there's no reason for China not to cooperate with the international community to understand how the virus came about. This discovery may help prevent pandemics in the future.
Establishment-critical narrative
It is convenient for the West to take a 180-degree turn regarding China and the coronavirus pandemic's origins, from vindication to blame, now that tensions are mounting between Beijing and Washington. Evidence of a lab leak makes it clear that America is as responsible as the PRC for both the virus's creation and the subsequent cover-up of its origins.