Energy Dept Believes COVID-19 Most Likely Began With Lab Leak in China
Summary from the AllSides News Team
New classified intelligence has reportedly led the Energy Department (DOE) to conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic most likely began with a leak from a laboratory in China.
The Details: The Wall Street Journal reported that "according to a classified intelligence report," the DOE shifted its stance and now joins the FBI in believing COVID-19 most likely leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The New York Times (Lean Left bias) published a similar report. The articles say the DOE and other agencies agree that the virus wasn't part of a Chinese biological weapons program.
For Context: The FBI believes the theory with "moderate confidence," and the DOE holds "low confidence," while the National Intelligence Council supports the natural animal-to-human transmission origin theory. Other agencies, including the CIA, remain undecided. The Wuhan lab has been scrutinized since the pandemic began, particularly over concerns about loose safety protocols and U.S.-funded "gain of function" research. A Senate GOP report in October 2022 said the virus "most likely" leaked from the lab.
How the Media Covered It: The news was a top story from sources across the spectrum. Some left-rated sources focused more on the low confidence rating and the fact that other federal agencies disagree with the lab leak theory. Right-rated sources more often highlighted voices who've supported the theory since early in the pandemic, when many mainstream news sources described it as a "debunked conspiracy."
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Senate Republicans demand action after Energy Department backs COVID 'lab leak' theory
Senate Republicans demanded transparency and accountability in response to reports that the U.S. Energy Department concluded COVID-19 most likely originated from a Chinese lab leak.
The reports, published by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times on Sunday, revealed that new classified intelligence had prompted the department to join the FBI in concluding that the COVID-19 pandemic was caused by a lab leak in Wuhan, China. The department, which was previously undecided on the issue, had made the determination with "low confidence," according to both reports.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) called for "extensive" public hearings into COVID's origins in Congress during an...
From the Left
US Energy Department assesses Covid-19 likely resulted from lab leak, furthering US intel divide over virus origin
The US Department of Energy has assessed that the Covid-19 pandemic most likely came from a laboratory leak in China, according to a newly updated classified intelligence report.
Two sources said that the Department of Energy assessed in the intelligence report that it had “low confidence” the Covid-19 virus accidentally escaped from a lab in Wuhan.
Intelligence agencies can make assessments with either low, medium or high confidence. A low confidence assessment generally means that the information obtained is not reliable enough or is too fragmented to make a more definitive analytic judgment or...
From the Center
Lab Leak Most Likely Origin of Covid-19 Pandemic, Energy Department Now Says
The U.S. Energy Department has concluded that the Covid pandemic most likely arose from a laboratory leak, according to a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress.
The shift by the Energy Department, which previously was undecided on how the virus emerged, is noted in an update to a 2021 document by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines’s office.
The new report highlights how different parts of the intelligence community have arrived at disparate judgments about the pandemic’s origin. The Energy Department now joins the Federal Bureau of...
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