[bee_rider]

> Genuinely surprises me that there are people out there who think or have been persuaded the virus is of natural origin. The lab right next to the market was literally studying and experimenting with the exact same type of virus. How can a someone think that that's just a coincidence?

It seems plausible, at least, that it leaked from the lab, in the sense that labs aren't magically impenetrable and leaks could happen.

> Add that to the fact that the funding for that research lab was approved by the same guy who become the de facto thought leader on the virus in the U.S., AND funded by the foundation of one of the most recognizable American billionaires. To put the cherry on top, even suggesting a synthetic origin resulted in bans on most social platforms!

I don't understand what this is supposed to mean. How does the fact that this guy (Fauci?) approved some funding make COVID seem more likely to have been leaked from a lab? It seems natural that somebody who's been working in government on medical topics at a high level for a long time would have approved funding on lots of things, and also likely that they'd become a figurehead in a pandemic, but I don't see any deeper links.

[projektfu]

Absolutely incredible to think that the national institute of allergy and infectious disease might fund research into infectious disease.

[peyton]

I think you’re committing a motte-and-bailey here. We are talking about research deemed so dangerous Obama banned it, not infectious disease research in general.

[bee_rider]

It looks like the US government stopped funding Gain of Function research for 3 years while working on handling guidelines, is that what you are referencing? That seems more like working out some details than burying the forbidden tomes in the desert.