Remember when the media was jeering Senator Tom Cotton for even mentioning the lab leak theory while fussily declaring it to be a “discredited conspiracy theory”?
The discredited conspiracy theory certainly has come a long way.
Most Americans now believe that the coronavirus leaked from a laboratory in China, according to a new POLITICO-Harvard poll that found a dramatic shift in public perception of Covid-19’s origins over the last year.
U.S. adults were almost twice as likely to say the virus was the result of a lab leak in China than human contact with an infected animal, which many scientists believe is the most likely scenario. The poll’s findings show what was once a fringe belief held mainly among some on the political right has become accepted by most Republicans, as well as most Democrats, amid heightened scrutiny of the lab leak theory.
In March 2020, a Pew Research Center poll found 29 percent of Americans believed the virus was made in a Chinese lab and released either accidentally or intentionally. The new survey shows 52 percent believe the virus came out of a lab, including 59 percent of Republicans and 52 percent of Democrats, while 28 percent said it was from an infected animal.
The lab-leak theory always made more sense.
But this also shows how the media can use partisan tribalism and heavy spin to suppress common sense until it bursts out anyway. Yes, the media began giving Democrats ‘permission’ to believe the lab-leak theory.
That’s not the only factor though.
People want answers after the devastation and none of the alternatives, such as wet markets, have produced them or offered any meaningful evidence of their origins.
The POLITICO-Harvard poll, which will be released next week, also found there’s a high level of public interest in investigating Covid-19’s origin, with almost two-thirds of Democrats and Republicans calling the issue “extremely” or “very” important. The finding also surprised Blendon, who said the public isn’t typically invested in such a scientific inquiry.
This isn’t a “scientific inquiry” to the public. It’s about accountability.
The death toll and economic devastation have been incredible. China has emerged stronger and richer than ever. So have companies like Amazon that are helping China gut our economy.
Ordinary people across party lines aren’t blind to that and they want answers.