The White House recently launched a new website. It furthers the farfetched, debunked theory that COVID-19 escaped from a Chinese lab. This decision comes on the heels of a controversial report dropped by House Republicans last week, which claims that a lab leak caused the pandemic. Even the scientific community is vehemently against this notion. Counter to these public efforts, the federal government appears intent on packing its online resources to facilitate the agenda of Trump’s administration.
The report, released last year, found that these probes into COVID-19’s origins have failed to provide a clear answer. The new website initially redirected visitors to a site promoting the lab leak theory. It does this, even though the evidence isn’t conclusive. This has caused alarm among experts and public health advocates alike who fear the new pipeline of misinformation.
The White House’s website pushing this conspiracy theory has been rightly criticized to the moon and back. It highlights medical disinformation promoting off-label COVID-19 treatments. For example, it argues that public health measures like social distancing, mask requirements, and stay-at-home orders don’t work to stop the spread of the virus. This claim is contrary to the conclusions of more than 700 studies. These studies have irrefutably demonstrated that these preventative strategies drastically lower transmission rates of respiratory infections such as COVID-19.
The government’s recent actions have included attempts to revise numerous official websites and documents in a manner consistent with the priorities of the previous administration. Now, reports are surfacing of a concerted campaign to remove diversity-related language from hundreds of Department of Transportation documents. High profile figures, including Elon Musk, are apparently behind this effort.
In response to the House Republicans’ report, House Democrats issued a rebuttal, emphasizing the need for credible and accurate information regarding the pandemic’s origins. They contend that elevating baseless conspiracy theories erodes public confidence in health authorities and makes it more difficult to control future outbreaks.
That’s why, as public health officials fight misinformation related to COVID-19, they emphasize the need to come back to the facts rooted in science. Needless to say, most virologists love to hate the lab leak theory. As officials who’ve worked in these fields, we believe our approach — calling for an evidence-based investigation — is the right one.
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