[jollybean]

Yes, they need to update that list.

Jamie Metzel [1] makes a very rational case that the Lab Leak theory is very likely. Check out is interview with Lex. It's more than 4 hours long (!), but worth a listen.

[1] https://jamiemetzl.com/origins-of-sars-cov-2/

[jimkleiber]

I think there are two theories that get conflated: 1) it was experimentation and leaked out of the lab accidentally and 2) it was weaponization and leaked out of the lab intentionally.

I think sometimes one person says the former and another hears the latter and vice versa.

[notahacker]

Also, conflation between "a coronavirus escaping lab which studied animal coronaviruses is a plausible origin for an outbreak in humans", which is a well-supported claim and "SARs-COV-2 can't be a natural virus", which isn't (even before all the extraneous group identity stuff is added on). Seems the designer of the graphic was focused on the latter argument when he said "made in lab".

[tripletao]

The creator of that graphic seems to have actually done so, at

https://twitter.com/abbieasr/status/1462953203067240450

"COVID-19 made in lab" has been revised to the narrower "COVID is a bioweapon". The remainder of the original broader claim ("COVID arose from reckless but not malicious virological research") appears nowhere on the new chart.

Of course the new chart then puts "Iran Contra" in the same category as "UFOs"; so infographics are perhaps not the best arbiters of truth in general.

[jollybean]

The chart is a bit politicized and kind of rubbish.

There is absolutely such a thing as a 'Deep State' and a 'New World Order'.

For god's sake, the 'Project for a New American Century' think-tank published their vision for America in the 21st century and broadly used the term 'Pax Americana' and indicated a massive military buildup, specifically in the Middle East. The signatories: Cheney, Jeb Bush, Wolfowizth, Andy Card - and a handful of others, would occupy the White House a few years later and use 'Terrorism' as an excuse to invade Iraq. And of course the 'New World Order' term came out of Bush Sr's speech.

That 2000's neocon movement fits exactly into 'New World Order' concerns, among others.

The 'Deep State' is absolutely real. The Pentagon, CIA and NSA have massive parts of their budgets detailed as 'Black Budgets' with limited Congressional oversight. There's ample evidence of problems there, that's not controversial. But even in the public bureaucracy, there are power centres that have ideological and political motivations. Sometimes organically developed, sometimes because a particular administration 'stacked' an agency.

While terms such as 'New World Order' and 'Deep State' are used as lightning rods for huge conspiracies and misinformation, there's considerable legitimacy about the issues more broadly.

It's actually a social problem, because such terms are picked up by the 'Alt Right' and others, they can hardly be used in polite conversation for fear of being misunderstood, but they are real problems.

Finally - 'COVID as a Bioweapon' shouldn't be in that category. It absolutely could have been developed as part of a bio-weapons program, that's not likely, but it's not conspiracy theory either.

Those advanced labs are absolutely being used for military purposes of some kinds, and given the information made available by Metzel and others, there's reason to consider (though not likely) that the research would have been part of a broader strategy of the CCP, which includes bioweapons research.

Bioweapons are real, they are developed and contemplated for use by various powers. That is not a conspiracy theory.

The chart illustrates a few other points which are politicized - moreover, I wouldn't agree at all with the layering/characterizations to begin with.

It's just not a good chart.