"Manipulation" means faking data, deliberately altering it, etc. What happened in this case is that the authors removed the raw data from a database and then pu

"Manipulation" means faking data, deliberately altering it, etc. What happened in this case is that the authors removed the raw data from a database and then published an accurate summary of the data in a peer-reviewed paper. > Since the CCP controls all aspects of Chinese research Not everything in China is automatically connected to everything else. People working on a new medical diagnostic tool at one university are not automatically related to people doing bat coronavirus research at another institute. > Or do we really believe there's nothing suspicious about a country of 1.4bn people having 5,508 reported deaths from COVID-19[2]? I'm sure there are lots of people here on HN who live in China, and who can explain the extremely strict and effective measures China took in early 2020 to eliminate SARS-CoV-2 from within their borders. China had a first wave that was largely confined to one city, and has had no large outbreak since. It's had small, local outbreaks that have been quickly contained. There's really no mystery about this at all.