Writes Althea, Content writer, Headline Diplomat eMagazine
After the west’s media rebuked the “Lab Leak Theory,” in 2020, it’s very astonishing that they are now backing it up and want investigations done once again. Yes, you read that correctly! Well, the narrative has now changed totally. An increasingly irrefutable pile of evidence has emerged that pinpoints the lab leak theory is actually the correct one.
Over a year and a half since the first coronavirus case was reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the question of how the virus first came about is still unknown. However, in the recent weeks and months, the controversial claim that Covid-19 might have leaked from a Chinese laboratory has gained traction.
Of course, this is after US President Joe Biden announced a quick investigation that will look into the theory as the possible origin of the deadly virus in May. In a statement, President Joe Biden said he had requested for a report on the origins of Covid-19 after assuming office, “including whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident.” Upon getting the statement, he asked for “additional follow-up.”
This change is huge and so profound. In fact, it has many implications in its consequences that its backlash may be felt for several years to come. Since the start of coronavirus, most of us have been of the view that the virus should have emanated from the province where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) happens to have a laboratory looking into precisely such viruses.
Last year, there were several senior figures from the world of intelligence, politics, and science who felt the same thing. On the contrary, the west media, and more importantly, the social media companies that now determine what we can now all know, say, and do, decide that they were more informed. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media companies decided to either “flag” or block content that hinted the pandemic originated in a laboratory.
When the pandemic had just broken out, some media outlets and powerful people tried to block out anyone that questioned the perceived story of the “Lab Leak Theory.” For instance, former WHO adviser Professor Karol Sikora’s YouTube content was brought down as soon as it was posted online. Besides, the public was only allowed to be told one version of the story that the virus was a result of an accident in a Wuhan wet market.
Here are some of the things that several top media houses had to say then and right now:
- On January 29, 2020, The Washington Post wrote, “Experts debunk fringe theory linking China’s coronavirus weapons research.” And on June 10, 2021, it wrote, “To some pundits, the early dismissals of the lab thesis now look like media malpractice.”
- On December 17, 2020, the Associated Press wrote, “Debunked COVID-19 myths survive online, despite facts.” And on 30 December 2020, it wrote, “China was clamping down on the hidden hunt for the pandemic’s origins.”
- On February 18, 2020, The New York Times wrote, “The conspiracy theory lacks evidence and has been dismissed by scientists.” And on May 27, 2021, it wrote, “Scientists don’t want to ignore the ‘lab leak’ theory.”
Now that the narrative has taken a shift, the west’s Wuhan cover-up can never be forgotten easily. Besides, the CPP played a part in this predicament as they tried to cover up their tracks. In February this year, officials from the WHO were provided a carefully curated tour by the Chinese authorities. This tour was meant to conclude that there was no evidence of the virus emanating from the laboratory at Wuhan.
Surprisingly, on the completion of the tour by WHO, the press conference was hijacked by the CCP’s spokespeople, and even WHO was bold enough to resist the conclusions forced upon them. This resulted in the CCP’s behavior raising more questions than answers about the “lab leak theory.”
However, the Chinese government has rejected the World Health Organization’s plan for the second phase of investigations into the origins of coronavirus – which may indeed validate that the virus may have escaped from a Wuhan lab – indicating further politicisation of the investigation, which has been interfered in the past by Beijing’s unwillingness to share crucial information.
According to an article published in the China Global Television by Mr. Danny Haiphong, an independent US journalist, and researcher, says, “The lab leak theory is a highly politicised framework for pursuing answers into the origins of Covid-19. That China would exercise caution in supporting an investigation that possesses far-from-impartial motives should come as no surprise.”
Regardless of what happens next, the investigation into how the virus appeared was already compromised by the fact that the CPP was doing everything possible it could to hinder the entire world’s efforts to discover what truly occurred. Aside from that, the most powerful country in the world also made it more difficult for people to know the truth by rebuking the virus-origin narrative.
Final thoughts
Despite the papers and media outlets in the west that brushed off the ‘lab leak theory’ trying to re-edit their own past content, they won’t get away with it. Besides, they won’t fool people anymore as this story won’t be forgotten easily because of the torture and desperation that it brought to people. And even though the CPP has the power to play the cover-up game, it’s now clear what may have caused Covid-19 and it’s just a matter of time before the real truth is unearthed.
Featured photo by Javon Swaby, Pexels
