Studies link COVID-19 to wildlife sales at Chinese market, find alternative scenarios extremely unlikely
www.sciencedaily.com
Analyses based on locations and viral sequencing of early COVID-19 cases indicate the pandemic started in Huanan market in Wuhan, China, with live animals being sold at the market as the likely source. Genomic studies revealed that the SARS-Cov-2 virus jumped into humans on at two separate occasions.

All up not the worst outcome.

Best outcome would have been that it was already spreading globally (as suggested by wastewater analysis) and China just detected it first.

Next best would be that it was brought into the wet market, but by a person.

Slightly worse is if it jumped from animals at the market, as that vindicates the racists. <— we are here

Worse than that is accidental lab leak of natural virus.

Worse still is accidental lab leak of manufactured virus.

Worst of all is intentional release of manufactured virus.

  • betelgeuse [comrade/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    The best case scenario is that people recognize "the truth" and that somehow acts as a bulwark against bad actions. If we act on good information, then our actions must also be good. Even if they're not good, at least we started from the right place.

    The crucial point here is that we don't live in a world where everyone on this site believes in the good information and it results in some kind of actual change in something. It's not even worth talking about actions because it won't even go that far. The only action is posting. It's not like us being correct means something outside of some personal preference for what one views as the truth. Wrong or right, we're in the same situation.

    Therefore it's a purely abstract strategy. We live in the world where saying the virus came from China does have real political implications, though not from us saying it. Not even really from your chud neighbor or coworker saying it. Because the powers that be will take any excuse they can and people accepting that it came from China helps that despite decisions of global politics not being in their control. As a leftist who likes China, why admit it came from there at all? China doesn't need us to stand up for it. They don't even know we exist. They're not depending on Western leftists to make communism happen for the world. They're already doing it. So us spreading conspiracies has no real impact there. Might as well refuse to admit purely out of spite for American propaganda. Sure it's petty but it doesn't get you any further away from communism than trusting the science.

    Saying it came from China can only hurt, with little gain for us. Saying it came from Ft Detrick makes people mad online and stubbornly refuses to play along. Also little gain for us but it also doesn't really hurt anything outside of some personal preference of shared cultural values, which are rationality and science.

    I know I'm not being rational. I'm doing it on purpose.

    • Sincerity [comrade/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Because even doing that in bad faith perpetuates complete falsehoods. Basically it’s tainting the well.

      It’s pretty well characterised that people who go for some conspiracy, either choose to consume much more or are at least primed to engage with and be less skeptical of further conspiratorial ideas.

      From a purely pragmatic point of view, a base of conspiratorially minded comrades who aren't able to critically assess information are probably a lot more susceptible to ops and targeted disinfo.