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The CIA now supports the theory that the coronavirus pandemic may have originated from an accidental lab leak in China, rather than a natural transmission from a wet market, according to a New York Times report on Saturday.
The CIA’s shift toward favoring the lab leak theory as the origin of the pandemic is not based on new intelligence but on a reassessment of existing evidence, officials familiar with the matter said, the Times reported.
The report indicated that the agency’s analysis includes a closer examination of conditions at high-security laboratories in Wuhan, China, prior to the outbreak.
A CIA spokesperson noted that other theories remain plausible and emphasized that the agency continues to evaluate any credible new intelligence, according to the report.
The CIA has long maintained uncertainty about whether the pandemic originated from human exposure to an infected animal or a potential incident at a research lab in China.
New CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the US Senate earlier this week, approved the declassification of the agency’s new assessment.
Ratcliffe has long maintained that the virus likely emerged from a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
After his confirmation Friday, he said in an interview that one of his initial priorities was having the agency release a public assessment of the pandemic’s origins.
Conspiracies around COVID-19 emerged rapidly during the pandemic, fueled by fear, misinformation, and mistrust. They ranged from claims that the virus was lab-engineered to theories suggesting it was deliberately released as a bioweapon.
Some believed 5G networks played a role in spreading the virus, leading to attacks on communication towers. Vaccine-related conspiracies gained momentum, including false claims about microchips in vaccines, altering DNA, or being a cover for population control.
Other theories accused governments and elites of exploiting the pandemic to impose authoritarian control through lockdowns, mask mandates, and vaccine passports. Social media amplified these ideas, spreading misinformation faster than ever before.
While most of these theories lack scientific evidence, they’ve caused real-world harm by undermining public health efforts, fueling distrust, and creating division during a global crisis.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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