EXCLUSIVE: Hidden Messages in GOP Report Reveal How Scientists Shaped Narrative on COVID-19 Origins

'The main issue is that accidental escape is in fact highly likely–it's not some fringe theory,' one prominent scientist said

The P4 laboratory on the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on May 13, 2020. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

News Analysis

On July 11, we reported that House Republicans released two text messages (pdf) that show that a group of prominent scientists conspired to dismiss the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to protect China.