That Didn’t Age Well: Wuhan Propaganda From MSM Laid Bare

For nearly 18 months, the mainstream media engaged in journalistic malpractice – quashing any suggestion that COVID-19 could have originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, because their arch-nemesis, former President Trump, dared promote this very logical conclusion. Let’s also not forget the deep ties Beijing has formed within the United States, which include universities, entertainment, sports leagues, and of course, Washington DC and its liberal surrogates.

So of course, once the lab-leak theory began to circulate in January, 2020, China’s ‘investments’ in the United States paid off, and the entire liberal media industrial complex furiously peddled the ‘natural origin’ theory, while boldly proclaiming the lab origin hypothesis a ‘debunked conspiracy theory.’ 

That was until the last two weeks, starting with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) shredding Anthony Fauci over the NIH funding US research within the Wuhan lab, followed by a Wall Street Journal report that three WIV lab workers were hospitalized in December 2019 with COVID-19 symptoms.

And with that, the lab-leak hypothesis was legitimized almost overnight – sending liberal outlets scrambling to quietly append their previous reporting. This flood of hypocrisy was compiled into an epic Twitter thread by journalist Drew Holden:

You may remember that much of the really bad coverage was focused on @SenTomCotton’s suggestion that we better understand the potential for a lab leak from Wuhan.

The difference in framing here from @nytimes between May 2020 and May 2021 is…stark. pic.twitter.com/dr5kPPbq3a

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 25, 2021

But if you go back further, @CNN’s coverage gets even worse.

Early in 2020, they ran CCP talking points suggesting it was all a political tactic based on “disinformation.”

A little over a year later, CNN is asking the same questions President Trump and his team were panned for. pic.twitter.com/Z4DCkl1zSG

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 25, 2021

I can’t say this enough. In early 2020, @washingtonpost accused @SenTomCotton of “fanning the embers of a conspiracy theory repeatedly debunked by experts” for asking the same questions the Post’s reporting is currently asking. pic.twitter.com/iZ5tG4ELdb

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 25, 2021

@politico had a quicker about-face than most. While they decried that the Wuhan lab was “at the center of conspiracy theories about the pandemic’s origin,” in March 2021 they resurfaced worries about “risky coronavirus experiments” from 2018.

Wonder why “no one listened.” pic.twitter.com/oEZg12Ej9B

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 25, 2021

I don’t know how else to put it. @NPR was awful about this one.

In April 2020, the story was “scientists debunk lab accident theory” but in March 2021 the idea suddenly “takes on new life”.

Did anyone consider who killed the original theory? I have an idea. pic.twitter.com/KSjoJF4ZSO

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 25, 2021

For @BBCNews, the lab leak theory went from a conspiracy theory on par with China’s suggestion that the US created the virus to “all hypotheses are on the table” without an ounce of self awareness. pic.twitter.com/RAA6KRR6zE

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 25, 2021

Unfortunately there was a lot to work with for @BusinessInsider. I couldn’t help but include these two pieces that haven’t exactly aged perfectly. pic.twitter.com/H5yWMXWnTS

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 25, 2021

The worst part of all of this (except for the damage to public trust, of course) is the absolute lack of accountability.

The media totally blew it on this story in ways that could make it less likely that we ever get to the bottom of this. Without offering so much as an apology.

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) May 25, 2021

Meanwhile, a SUPERCUT!

SUPERCUT!

Media mock Trump, @TomCottonAR for “debunked” Covid lab leak theory pic.twitter.com/nb0621y2e7

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) May 26, 2021 

Expect no apologies, of course.

Cover photo via Armstrong Economics