zlacker

>>nnx+(OP)
It's interesting to see that with Donald Trump out of office, the "lab escape" hypothesis is not roundly dismissed as a right-wing conspiracy theory anymore.

>>incrud+I2
Nobody ever dismissed it. It has been a viable theory since the beginning. What was dangerous was pointing the finger at China and saying “this is all their fault!” without any evidence. There STILL is not evidence, but that doesn’t mean it should not be investigated as a source.

Dismissing the theory outright has never and will never be an option. I don’t like that this is what the team decided to do, and I suspect there is a lot of tension in this investigation.

>>beowul+N6
> Nobody ever dismissed it.

You must've missed out on previous HN discussions. I remember these guys in particular being paraded around:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBQplOe8-LE

I did find their tone quite dismissive, and the verdict in the title leaves little room for interpretation.

> What was dangerous was pointing the finger at China and saying “this is all their fault!” without any evidence.

True, but that's irrelevant to the plausibility of the hypothesis.

> There STILL is not evidence, but that doesn’t mean it should not be investigated as a source.

Arguably, it's still dangerous to do exactly that.