this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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[–] MF_COOM@hexbear.net 34 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ignore the experts who were saying for years that viral spillover was inevitable if we continue deforestation. It must be the scheming orientals.

[–] Syldon@feddit.uk 9 points 1 year ago (4 children)

No one disputes that this could be a transcendence issue, but China's continuous blocking any efforts that are not controlled by them makes any investigation suspect. The Chinese should have already hosted an investigation. This will have been presented to the initial who investigation. Any further investigations will have zero credibility.

[–] freagle@lemmygrad.ml 26 points 1 year ago (62 children)

Any attempt to force China to accept inspectors from the Euro-centric world already has zero credibility given the number of times the Euro-centric world has used this exact ruse as a pretext for espionage and war propaganda

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[–] eatmyass@hexbear.net 25 points 1 year ago (3 children)

goddamnit is this what we get for federating with libs? Unironic lab leak theory? Truly bleak

[–] MF_COOM@hexbear.net 23 points 1 year ago

They think conspiracy theories are just something Qanon does

[–] Tankiedesantski@hexbear.net 12 points 1 year ago

Unironic lab leak theory

This, except the lab in question is Fort Detrick.

[–] can@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago

You're the one generalizing everyone as "libs"

[–] RuthlessCriticism@hexbear.net 23 points 1 year ago (9 children)

I guarantee that you would be cooking up these conspiracy theories regardless of any investigations that China had allowed. They could have shipped every citizen of Wuhan straight to your house so you could personally interview them and it still wouldn't be enough.

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[–] UlyssesT@hexbear.net 19 points 1 year ago (3 children)

The Chinese should have already hosted an investigation.

That wording totally doesn't sound racist.

Something happens in Kenya

The Blacks should have already hosted an investigation. us-foreign-policy

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[–] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 27 points 1 year ago

I am in favor of a joint multilateral investigation into Ft Dietrick

[–] Commiejones@hexbear.net 21 points 1 year ago (5 children)

What ever happened to the mysterious Vaping disease in USA in 2019? Its like covid happened and then vape disease disappeared. Funny how people were dying of vape disease and Unknown respiratory disease was destroying Eldercare facilities in USA way before Covid was ever discovered in China but nobody is looking into those deaths or their origins.

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[–] autotldr@lemmings.world 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Whether it naturally sprang from animals at a Chinese wet market or was a deliberately engineered virus that leaked from a lab remains to this day a question shrouded in mystery, providing fertile ground for conspiracy theories.

In a surprise move, the new chief scientist at the World Health Organization backed a fact-finding mission to China despite his own doubts that COVID-19 escaped from an institute for virology in Wuhan.

In the FT interview, Farrar said he would be in favor of a fresh investigation into the origin of a microscopic virus that wreaked untold economic damage, brought the health system to the brink of collapse, and cost millions of lives around the world.

The WHO previously dispatched a team to investigate the origins, but the results published in early 2021 were tainted in the eyes of many as Beijing insisted in a joint effort that undermined confidence.

The study only served to confirm criticisms repeatedly leveled at the United Nations public health body and its top official, Tedros Ghebreyesus, that it bent over backwards to accommodate the Chinese regime.

In testimony presented before Congress last month, the lead author on a controversial “proximal origin” study rejected allegations from Republican lawmakers that he was unduly influenced by either Fauci or Farrar, then still the director of Wellcome Trust.


The original article contains 582 words, the summary contains 208 words. Saved 64%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] Blamemeta@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I still don't get how the wet market theory is less racist than the escaped from a lab theory.

[–] mim@lemmy.sdf.org 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Because one can be pinned down to government involvement, while the other can't.

It's the classic CCP defense: "We're not an authoritarian country, you're just racist!".

EDIT: not saying that it was or wasn't a lab leak, but as soon as the government shoots down the possibility with "you're racist", I immediately get suspicious. The same way that I get suspicious when Israel shoots down criticism with "you're just anti-Semitic". It's basically gaslighting with identity politics.

[–] PoliticalAgitator@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago

It was never the theory that was racist, it was the amount of evidence behind it.

If "there's a virology lab there" was all the evidence you needed to assert it was a lab leak, chances are it's because you're racist. That's why early on, this theory was most popular with far-right reactionaries.

Meanwhile, what's been the origin story of every similar virus? Animal trade. That's why early on, this theory was most popular with actual scientists who were actually qualified to have an opinion.

[–] CascadeOfLight@hexbear.net 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Here's an article from the AP on how the WHO team had full access to everything they wanted to see during their visit to Wuhan.

You'll notice that link goes through the Wayback Machine, because the article now just says page unavailable.

Which is weird, because the search result clearly shows the text is still there.

Would "impartial" Western media really do that? Half-assedly delete the inconvenient truths that they themselves reported? thonk

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