It was reported in the WSJ recently that China's only Biosafety Level 4 lab is in, you guessed it, Wuhan. The Wuhan Institute of Virology. More like The Wuhan Institute of Virology *and Bioweapon Research.
Naturally, some are peddling the theory that the coronavirus was released accidentally from the lab. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton tweeted this theory and received some blowback from the press. MSNBC hosted China's Ambassador to the U.S., who also denied the theory. Like he's anything but a talking puppet of the PRC.
To me, it's hilariously obvious. It's like living down the street from Jurassic Park, seeing a pterodactyl flying overhead, and wondering "from where could that have possibly come?" From the place up the street growing dinosaurs, idiot.
You could just picture the comic strip: the gleaming Virology Institute up on the hill, a poorly-installed drainage pipe originating from inside the clean-room draining into the animal market a mile down the road. Or, perhaps it's less cinematic and someone just mixed up a vial of live culture, like they did with ebola in 2013.
Not that this is intended as alarmist, nor does it change anything about the spread or prevention of the virus. It's just an instance where Occam's razor should be applied.
Has WSO degenerated into a site for conspiracy theorists?
I'll admit that at this point it's totally a conspiracy theory. But to say I'm a conspiracy theorist would be a mischaracterization. What's true is this: everyone is committing the conditional probability fallacy when they evaluate the probability that GIVEN the fact a virus spread from Wuhan, what is the chance it originated from the facility--which is far higher than the chance a virus would originate from the facility on any given day.
Not all conspiracy theories are made equal. This one is one of the more credible ones.
With a conspiracy theorist for President, all his devoted followers are too.
Looking increasingly credible...
@OldTakesExposed
Why would this specific one be released of all the deadly things people could come up with? It doesn't seem likely because of how less lethal it really is and only affecting older people.
Unless...this was an attempt by the govt to eliminate a good portion of the older population given that the older pop will be living much longer and will make healthcare and a lot of other things harder. If they succeed with this virus in doing damage to the old pop, they can release a similar disease in 10-20 years noting that this is just another strain of the Corona virus that had been dormant in people for years and is now causing havoc.
Know a guy from the army who told me he KNOWS the govt is hiding stuff from us
I never said or implied it was released intentionally, and it would be asinine for anyone to suggest they intentionally infected their own population. But it's entirely plausible they were researching the virus and accidentally released it
There are enough people in this world who would think the govt would actually do such a thing intentionally. Scary.
The real question is, are you even surprised?
Accidental mishandling is pretty plausible. I read an article that said an Ebola sample was once sent to the wrong lab here in the US (nothing happened however).
I also don’t see how this is a “conspiracy theory” per se, it’s just as plausible as any other explanation. Chinese biologists know these types of viruses originate from animals and thus conduct research on these viruses and animals all the time. If someone gets bitten or exposed in some way that’s all it would take.
Darn, I didn't think about getting bitten by an animal. what if a scientist had a bat he was researching and got bit by it. Thought it was nothing and went about his day. Then, everyone he touches for the next few weeks becomes infected and now we are here today. It seriously could have been just one guy who said nothing about getting bitten by a bat...
Hang on though - to immediately discount this theory as "conspiracy" is pretty closed-minded.
Not so long ago the USSR told the world that the release of radiation into the atmosphere from Chernobyl had nothing to do with a problem at the local reactor complex.
I'm just saying that in the face of potentially embarrassing news, governments have shown they will do whatever they can to save face on the world stage.
When a never before seen virus begins spreading down the road from a viral research facility, I think that should raise some eyebrows. Obviously, correlation does not equal causation, but it's certainly a logical question that should be explored.
Good god people on this site are morons.
Care to elaborate?
The idea that the coronavirus is a bioweapon is moronic. People who believe in conspiracy theories, in general, are morons.
Even if you accept the premise that it could happen, the theory is dumb. What possible purpose would a virus that more or less only kills old people serve as a weapon?
Last thing we need is some basement lunatic Trump supporter building his psychotic playbook on this Tweet.
It's pretty crazy to believe that China purposely released it, but I think there's a really good chance it accidentally leaked from the facility.
That's my only assertion here. Considering the Chinese economy has taken a huge hit and the disruption to supply chains has lead to many companies considering diversifying their operations into other countries, I don't see an end game favorable to China here.
It feels like the consistency of China’s behavior, as well as the globally mutual negative impacts of the fallout, negate anyone from ever being able to prove this is biological warfare.
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