"The true origins": White House pushes Wuhan lab leak theory

Shafaq News/ The White House unveiled a new webpage focused on the origins of COVID-19, endorsing the theory that the virus leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan, China.

The page, hosted on the official White House website, features a banner styled like a movie poster titled “Lab Leak,” with US President Donald Trump positioned between the words, wearing a stern expression. Beneath the title appears the handwritten phrase: “The true origins of COVID-19.”

"Lab Leak" accuses US health officials, political leaders, and media organizations of promoting the theory that the virus originated naturally. It names Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as a key proponent of that view.

According to the site, there is “substantial evidence” supporting the claim that the virus emerged from a lab in Wuhan. It also criticizes several public health measures implemented during the pandemic, including mask mandates, social distancing, and lockdowns, describing them as “misguided.”

More than five years after the start of the global outbreak, the origin of the virus remains unconfirmed. Scientific and intelligence agencies continue to examine competing theories, including a natural spillover from animals to humans and a lab-related incident.

The release of the webpage comes as Trump moves to overhaul federal health messaging, bringing back his last term's version, with several government COVID-19 resource sites now redirected to the new page.

Framed as a challenge to the official pandemic “narrative,” the site criticizes agencies that supported the natural-origin theory, despite a 2023 US intelligence review that found no conclusive evidence supporting either hypothesis.