Former CDC director believes coronavirus came from Wuhan Lab
'Special Report' All-Star panel weighs in on COVID origins and border crisis
A Washington Post columnist slammed The New York Times for "bending over backwards" to dismiss the theory that coronavirus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, tweeting that the rival liberal paper is "the opposite of objective."
The Times published an article on Friday that seemed to initially call the theory "debunked," but then declared it's simply "extremely unlikely" and the word "debunked" vanished from the story.
"They are bending over backwards to defend one theory over another. It’s the opposite of objective," Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin wrote.
Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy pointed out the headline that appears when the article is found on Google was, "Ex-CDC Director Favors Debunked Covid-19 Origin Theory." As of Monday morning, a Google search of the article still reveals the word "debunked" in the headline despite a different headline appearing once the article is clicked on.
"The lab-leak hypothesis has not been debunked," Dunleavy wrote.
The Times apparently updated headline, "The C.D.C.’s ex-director offers no evidence in favoring speculation that the coronavirus originated in a lab," appears without an editor’s note or correction.
The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment and clarification.
Rogin noticed Dunleavy’s tweet and blasted the rival paper.
Last week, ex-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield told CNN that he believed the coronavirus escaped from a Chinese lab.
"I am of the point of view, I still think the most likely ideology of this pathogen in Wuhan was from a laboratory, escaped. Other people don't believe that. That's fine," Redfield told CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
The theory has been largely dismissed by the mainstream media over the past year and was swiftly declared to be evidence-free by CNN itself. Redfield, who noted he was not accusing China of purposefully releasing the deadly virus, also speculated COVID-19 began transmitting as early as September 2019.
CNN's digital writeup of the interview called Redfield's remark "a controversial theory without evidence." However, a Washington Post editorial recently said a separate, independent investigation was necessary to find the true origins of the virus and didn't dismiss the idea it came from a lab.
"The theory has not been debunked," author Tim Carney wrote.
Daily Caller editor-in-chief Geoffrey Ingersoll thinks media response to Redfield "reeks of residual political animus" for the Trump administration.
"The overall reaction from big media to Redfield’s CNN hit — CBS, NYT, even CNN itself — reeks of residual political animus for Trump himself. It lacks rigorous comprehension," Ingersoll wrote.
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Mollie Hemingway feels the media is colluding to prevent free and open debate on the topic.
"Hasn't been debunked, particularly since CCP has prevented the world from getting information on what happened," Hemingway wrote. "Most terrifying thing in world right now is not COVID but how Big Tech/Big Media collude to viciously fight open/free debate on this and other important issues."
Fox News’ David Rutz contributed to this report.