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Sudden Shift in COVID-19 Lab Leak Narrative ‘Mysterious’:
Evolutionary Biologist
BY ISABEL VAN BRUGEN AND JAN JEKIELEK
July 2, 2021
The sudden shift in narrative over the possibility that COVID-19 could have emerged from a lab in Wuhan, China, is mysterious and contingent to “just how corrupt our system has become,” according to evolutionary biologist Bret Weinstein.
Weinstein, biologist and co-host of the DarkHorse Podcast, has since last year explored the possibility that COVID-19 could have emerged from a laboratory. He told Epoch TV’s “American Thought Leaders” program (episode premiering on Sat. July 3) that the fact that the hypothesis is now receiving widespread recognition from the international community is “completely mysterious.”
“My channel was very early on this topic, and it was quite clear to many of us, starting with the tremendous coincidence of this virus having emerged first in Wuhan, where there is a biosafety level four lab studying these very viruses and enhancing them,” said Weinstein. “It was quite clear that there was at least a viable hypothesis that needed to be discussed.
Weinstein, a visiting fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University, said that before the narrative surrounding the COVID-19 lab leak theory gained traction, those who did discuss it were stigmatized, demonized and “portrayed as everything from racist to reactionary.”
“All we were doing was following the evidence,” Weinstein continued. “The change in that story was, I have to say, completely mysterious.”
While the theory that the virus was the result of a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) was labeled a “conspiracy theory” last year, it has recently gained traction as a growing number of scientists and officials have lent credence to the hypothesis.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
A January State Department fact sheet raised questions about whether the outbreak could have been the result of a lab accident at WIV. It said the United States has “reason to believe” that several WIV researchers became sick with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses in autumn 2019. The department also said the lab had been conducting secret military experiments on animals since at least 2017, and that it has a history of conducting gain-of-function research on viruses. Such research involves modifying viruses to have new or enhanced capabilities.
The absolute madness of this research is stunning!
President Joe Biden on May 26 ordered the intelligence community to produce a report in 90 days on the origins of the virus, saying that intelligence agencies are looking at rival theories, including the possibility of a laboratory accident in China.
Weinstein criticized the explanations provided in recent weeks by “all of those who had gotten the story wrong” after the lab leak theory gained wider recognition.
PolitiFact, for example, on May 24 quietly retracted a September 2020 fact check that labeled a Hong Kong virologist’s claim that COVID-19 originated in a lab as inaccurate and a “debunked conspiracy theory.”
“The claim is inaccurate and ridiculous,” the now-archived fact check previously said. “We rate it Pants on Fire!”
In an updated editor’s note, PolitiFact explained why it removed the label.
“When this fact-check was first published in September 2020, PolitiFact’s sources included researchers who asserted the SARS-CoV-2 virus could not have been manipulated. That assertion is now more widely disputed,” the note said. “For that reason, we are removing this fact-check from our database pending a more thorough review. Currently, we consider the claim to be unsupported by evidence and in dispute.”
Separately, the Washington Post quietly walked back its claims regarding the COVID-19 lab leak theory.
The paper in February 2020 published an article claiming the idea was a “conspiracy theory” that had been “debunked.” The article attacked Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who called for an investigation into the origins of the CCP virus.
Some reporters have said that they disregarded the lab leak theory because Republicans were largely the ones promoting the idea.
Weinstein described the phenomenon as “a headlong rush, by all of those who had gotten the story wrong to explain themselves—and their explanations made less than no sense.”
He said that certain journalists or media outlets “seemed to center on the fact that because [former President] Donald Trump had been favorable to the idea that this might have emerged from a lab, that that made it not true.”
“Which, of course, is such an illogical conclusion that it’s hard to imagine how anybody who considers himself a journalist could for a moment have been misled,” he continued. “I mean, at worst, if you thought everything that Donald Trump said was a lie—at worst, you would have to take it as no evidence either way.
“But that’s not how people treated it. They treated it almost as if the truth was always the opposite of what he said.”
Other outlets have also corrected or quietly updated stories, including Vox, while Facebook stopped banning posts suggesting the virus was man-made.
Weinstein said that he believes it eventually became “impossible to maintain the public lie that a laboratory version was somehow in conflict with the evidence.”
“And we now know from Dr. Fauci, his emails, that behind the scenes, the top people didn’t believe it either. They were just simply feeding the public a line that they had their own reasons for wanting the public to believe,” he said.
“It is contingent on the several different stories that surround COVID-19, revealing to us just how corrupt our system has become.”
German TV reporter suspended by RTL after smearing mud on herself
to dramatize on-scene report from deadly flood's aftermath
22 Jul, 2021 21:48
RTL's Susanna Ohlen is shown in a screenshot, reporting on the flood damage © web.archive.org / RTL
German television reporter Susanna Ohlen was caught on video apparently trying to muddy herself before going on camera to report from a town devastated by last week’s deadly flooding, prompting her suspension by news outlet RTL.
Videos posted Thursday on social media showed Ohlen in the town of Bad Munstereifel, appearing to wipe mud on herself as her camera crew stood by. An online RTL report, which has since been deleted, said, “Numerous prominent helpers also lend a hand and actively support local people. One of them is Susanna Ohlen.”
The broadcaster issued a statement on Thursday afternoon saying that Ohlen had been suspended. “Our reporter's approach clearly contradicts journalistic principles and our own standards,” RTL said. “We therefore gave her a leave of absence on Monday, after we heard about it.”
As social media users pointed out, the media outlet made no mention of the embarrassing incident or its disciplinary action until days later, when the footage of Ohlen’s actions came to light. “Have you publicly discussed this incident and your moderator’s leave of absence or are we only now finding out about it because the video is currently making the rounds?” one Twitter commenter asked the broadcaster.
The 39-year-old Ohlen also reportedly posted a clip of herself on Instagram earlier, saying, “Everyone lends a hand here, grabs a shovel. If you have a shovel at home or a wheelbarrow, come here and get in touch.” She added that she has a holiday home near Bad Munstereifel, making the devastation even more emotional for her, “but of course, people stand together here. You help each other.”
At least 173 people were killed in Germany in the horrific floods, which hit some areas with the most rain seen in more than 100 years. German officials said on Thursday that they fear 158 people still missing may never be found.
NPR allows its reporters to join BLM and LGBT activists,
as long as the cause is ‘freedom and dignity’
29 Jul, 2021 18:05
People celebrate Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in Texas, at Black Lives Matter Plaza
in Washington, DC, June 19, 2021 © Reuters / Ken Cedeno
NPR has overhauled its ethics rules and will now let its reporters march in BLM protests and pride parades. Some commenters say the move blurs the line between journalism and activism. Others say NPR’s already way past that line.
National Public Radio updated its two-decade-old ethics policy earlier this month, with the liberal outlet explaining the change on Thursday. While reporters were once forbidden from taking part in “marches, rallies and public events,” that blanket ban has been lifted.
Now, NPR reporters can “express support for democratic, civic values...such as, but not limited to: the freedom and dignity of human beings, the rights of a free and independent press, the right to thrive in society without facing discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, disability, or religion.”
Campaigning for specific politicians and policies is still off the table, as is donating money to political causes. However, the list of permitted activities is broad and vague. In an article explaining the new policy, NPR’s Kelly McBride stated that marching in a Black Lives Matter protest would probably be allowed, as would taking part in an LGBT pride parade.
“But in practice, NPR journalists will have to discuss specific decisions with their bosses, who in turn will have to ask a lot of questions,” McBride wrote.
Democratic politicians, and some Republicans, regularly stump at pride parades, and the slogans and icons of BLM are utilized by Democratic lawmakers and the Biden administration itself. While some see these movements as advocating for “the freedom and dignity of human beings,” many see them as overtly political.
Commenters online didn’t trust NPR management to enforce the policy fairly, given the persistent accusations of heavy liberal bias leveled at the taxpayer-funded outlet.
And given the fact that anti-abortion activists view themselves as sticking up for the “dignity of human beings,” one commenter wondered if bosses at the network, which is overwhelmingly pro-choice, would sign off on a reporter taking part in a pro-life demonstration.
Others saw the change as redundant, for the same reasons.
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Anti-Russia crusader McFaul says helping destroy US-Moscow relations
worth it because of ‘million-dollar salary’ & ‘adoring fans’
2 Aug, 2021 08:49
By Bryan MacDonald
Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Moscow who has since transitioned into one of Russia’s most vociferous and omnipresent critics, has revealed online that the move from diplomat to info warrior has been a lucrative one.
On Sunday, an anonymous Twitter user posted an exchange with the ubiquitous anti-Moscow activist, who teaches international studies at Stanford University, and writes a column for the Washington Post, when he's not on television peddling conspiracy theories.
Asked whether he would be concerned about being granted a visa to visit Russia again, the former advisor to US President Barack Obama said that he was more than comfortable commenting on the country from afar.
“I have a job for life at the best university in the world,” he said. “I live in a giant house in paradise. I make close to a million dollars a year. I have adoring fans on TV and a half million followers on Twitter, 99% who also admire me. I’m doing just fine without a damn visa from Russia.”
In reply, the Twitter user shot back that “all of that perfectly exemplifies the fact that American meritocracy is just a myth.” For the riposte, the account was reportedly blocked by the ex-diplomat.
In a subsequent Tweet posted late Sunday night, McFaul confirmed the exchange was real, saying “I wrote that message in a private channel. I did not expect it to be published.” However, he went on, “it was still a mistake. It was arrogant and idiotic.” According to him, “a swarm of Russian trolls was accusing me of failure, and I responded in a most unprofessional way.”
Despite claiming to be targeted primarily by shadowy Russians online, McFaul has drawn no end of criticism from fellow Western commentators and analysts who see his approach to the country as out of touch with its reality. Journalist Glenn Greenwald said McFaul was assuming the user was “a Kremlin agent unless he immediately provided his real name, but that probably goes without saying. Everyone is a Kremlin agent to these elite conspiratorial loons.”
McFaul served as US ambassador to Moscow for two years, leaving the post as the Ukraine crisis boiled over, in 2014. His time in the Russian capital was controversial, with many establishment figures believing the accidental diplomat was meddling in the country’s domestic political affairs. In a 2012 interview with the website Slon, McFaul described himself as “specialist on democracy, anti-dictator movements, revolutions.” Furthermore, he had written a 2005 paper on “American Efforts at Promoting Regime Change in the Soviet Union and then Russia.”
After his return to the US, McFaul became a vocal critic of the Russian government, primarily through his Twitter account. This led to appearances on American cable television shows, and op-ed space in mainstream newspapers. If his claim of a close to one-million-dollar annual income is true, it appears he has fabulously monetised this "sideline."
The professor’s real fame kicked off when he positioned himself as perhaps the loudest proponent of the conspiracy theory that became known as ‘Russiagate’. McFaul helped feed paranoia among those aligned to the Democratic Party about supposed Russian meddling, with his former diplomatic status adding heft to the fake allegations – claiming, for example, that “Russia attacked us” and pushing fantastical, partisan, and often outright delusional, talking points.
This led to a punditry gig at MSNBC, where he helped feed the Russiagate narrative, often with Rachel Maddow. The style was more "news entertainment" than what would be considered journalism in most of the civilized world.
McFaul’s carry-on raised eyebrows in Moscow, where many wondered how a man with considerable genuine expertise on Russia ended up going down such a path.
A view often expressed to this writer by academic and political Russians (many of them opposition-minded) was that the tragedy of the former ambassador is that he could have used his status to work towards improving perceptions of Russia (and Russians as a people) in the US, but instead he chose to promote xenophobia and cash in on a conspiracy theory he knew was completely false.
Just last night, a close Kremlin advisor privately messaged to say “we always knew that he was fantastically stupid, but we didn’t realise it was to this extent,” after seeing the Twitter exchange.
Back in 2018, the Russian prosecutor general’s office announced it would be eager to speak with McFaul in connection with allegations made against Bill Browder, a former pro-Kremlin financier who has since led the charge on anti-Moscow sanctions. Browder, once a prominent supporter of Vladimir Putin, turned against Moscow after being accused of evading $40 million in taxes.
Former President Donald Trump, asked by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin about the request, described it as “an interesting idea.” American lawmakers later voted against the idea of making former diplomats available for interrogation.
While the think tank racket, and American cable news, provide healthy stipends to those whose analysis of the world neatly fits with the goals of embedded US foreign policy, and McFaul’s California pad may well be plush, at least one of his claims may not be demonstrably accurate. A Twitter Audit report, while far from the most scientific of techniques, claims that almost 40% of the esteemed professor’s followers are fake accounts.
Whether this apparent shadow army of bot accounts has been provided by the Kremlin in an effort to elevate McFaul’s hot takes about the country, or paid for by the former ambassador himself, is unclear.
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