> isn't the consensus still that the virus has a zoonotic origin? That is mostly a rhetorical question, because unless I have missed something, it is. Why do so

> isn't the consensus still that the virus has a zoonotic origin? That is mostly a rhetorical question, because unless I have missed something, it is. Why do so many folks want to pretend that this has been proven incorrect? There is no such consensus. That is one hypothesis. The other hypothesis is that SARS-CoV-2 was the product of gain-of-function research carried out at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. There have been a number of papers published arguing for either hypothesis. Interestingly, it was recently discovered that the authors of one of the papers arguing against the lab leak hypothesis had privately expressed the opinion that the lab leak hypothesis was almost certainly correct. > Perhaps I have a selective memory but I seem to remember that most of the pushback against the lab origin theory from people like Fauci was primarily intended to combat racial and ethnic tensions that were growing at the time. Especially when it came to the notion that the virus was purposely released. That doesn’t really make any sense if you think about it. The uptick in violent crime against Asian-Americans started in the summer months alongside the more general uptick in violent crime. Furthermore, the official narrative essentially blamed the pandemic on Chinese people buying unsanitary exotic meat from wet markets. To me, that seems far more likely to incite ethnic hatred than simply pinning the blame on the Wuhan Institute of Virology. > I do not recall any reputable scientist completely discounting the lab origin theory At one point, the lab leak theory was considered “misinformation” and censored by social media companies, supposedly based on the guidance they received from public health authorities.