Flashback: So-Called Fact-Checkers Got the Wuhan Lab Leak Dead Wrong

The theory that COVID originated from a lab leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology has now been embraced by FBI Director Christopher Wray and a bombshell report recently indicated that the U.S. Energy Department believes the virus likely started at the lab. 

Back on March 21, 2020, USA Today published a fact-check titled, "Did the coronavirus originate in a Chinese laboratory?" which confidently stated that the lab leak theory was "false information" that was pushed by right-leaning outlets. It also called the notion that COVID began in a lab a "conspiracy" and insisted credible researchers believe the virus originated in nature. 

"There is no evidence to suggest that the virus was created in a Chinese laboratory," USA Today told its readers at the time. "We rate this claim FALSE, based on our research. Overwhelming scientific evidence suggests the coronavirus originated in nature, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise."A year later, USA Today was forced to issue a correction, changing its headline to "Coronavirus not man-made or engineered but its origin remains unclear." 

And they weren't the only one....