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.
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.
The latter is simpler—it is reasonable to think a lab that maintains and studies viruses similar to Covid-19 accidentally allowed one to be released. It does not imply an intent to misuse the virus.
I have not watched the video, I’m sorry. I’ll try and get to it later.
It doesn't imply intent to use as a bioweapon, much less release it in their own population.
The hypothesis that this was a gain-of-function experiment that went awry due to lax security still does put a lot of pressure on Chinese authorities, on top of the poor handling at the beginning of the outbreak.