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appalachiablue

(41,114 posts)
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 01:05 AM Apr 2020

Nearly Thirty Percent Of Americans Believe The Coronavirus Was Made In A Lab: Poll

Source: The Hill

Nearly 3 out of 10 Americans believe an unsubstantiated claim that the coronavirus -- which has infected more than 1.8 million people and killed more than 116,000 worldwide -- was made in a lab, according to a poll from the Pew Research Center.

The poll found that as 43 percent of Americans say the coronavirus most likely came about naturally, 29 percent say it most likely was created in a lab. Of that 29 percent, 23 percent say it is most likely the current strain of coronavirus was developed intentionally in a lab, while 6 percent say it was most likely made accidentally in a lab. A quarter of participants said they aren't sure where the virus came from. The survey was conducted from March 10-16.

The poll also found Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are more likely than Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents to say the coronavirus was created in a lab -- 37 percent to 21 percent respectively. Meanwhile, 39 percent of conservative Republicans said the coronavirus was created in a lab.

Younger people were also more likely than older adults to say the virus originated in a lab. The poll found 35 percent of adults ages 18-29 say the virus was developed in a lab, compared with 21 percent of adults 65 and older. Meanwhile, 19 percent of adults with a bachelor's degree or more education say the coronavirus was made in a lab, while 35 percent of those with a high school diploma or less education believe so...


Read more: https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/longevity/492522-almost-three-in-ten-americans-believe-the-coronavirus



The rumor that the coronavirus came from a lab originated from unverified social media accounts and hasn’t been supported by any credible evidence, according to CNN.

As the coronavirus outbreak turned into a full-blown public health crisis, misinformation and conspiracy theories about the disease began to swirl -- so much so it prompted the World Health Organization to call it an "infodemic."
71 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Nearly Thirty Percent Of Americans Believe The Coronavirus Was Made In A Lab: Poll (Original Post) appalachiablue Apr 2020 OP
There's actually no evidence of that. AtheistCrusader Apr 2020 #1
Yeah. It's being pushed by ZeroHedge (Bulgaria; read Putin) & GreatGameIndia Bernardo de La Paz Apr 2020 #9
And it is also being pushed by DU jberryhill Apr 2020 #28
According to the Washington Post, it's actually based in fact. BComplex Apr 2020 #37
Absolutely not. That is NOT what the WAPO article says. AtheistCrusader Apr 2020 #45
I stand corrected. BComplex Apr 2020 #47
No worries. THere are some media sources that are purposely obfuscating the difference AtheistCrusader Apr 2020 #53
The 30% represents the irreducible number in the Basket of Deplorables, marble falls Apr 2020 #2
good one MF DENVERPOPS Apr 2020 #4
Hopefully the 30% all catch it rpannier Apr 2020 #5
The 'Keyes Constant', Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #23
Thats a fair enough comparison. I buy into it. marble falls Apr 2020 #24
i like it. mopinko Apr 2020 #44
What I call "The Crazy Third". rickyhall Apr 2020 #50
The Whiskey Rebellion comes to mind. marble falls Apr 2020 #52
Oh, dear lord. PoindexterOglethorpe Apr 2020 #3
And maybe 30 % of Hindus believe Muslims are responsible Bernardo de La Paz Apr 2020 #6
And Allowed By Modi's Government, Sir, To Mob And Lynch In Accord With That Belief The Magistrate Apr 2020 #27
Jesus Coronavirus. That is some crazy shit. nt chowder66 Apr 2020 #7
Captain Trumps nt sfstaxprep Apr 2020 #8
Idiots will idiot. nt. SunSeeker Apr 2020 #10
Hopefully, the other 70% hate Trump. C Moon Apr 2020 #11
Gonna guess this would play well with the same type that tried to gather in Roswell or those Q nuts lunasun Apr 2020 #12
Wow Bigredhunk Apr 2020 #13
When I was in my early teens, a record came out called "Dracula's Greatest Hits." DFW Apr 2020 #14
Science doesn't care what you believe. truthisfreedom Apr 2020 #15
unless you and your team have the secret vaccine! muuuuaaaahhhahhhahha Blues Heron Apr 2020 #21
Maher Nacht Owl Apr 2020 #16
Excellent rant! Duppers Apr 2020 #64
Seems to be a correlation Woodwizard Apr 2020 #17
Every single one of these morons is a trump cultist. mwb970 Apr 2020 #18
Republican mistrust of scientists is consistent bucolic_frolic Apr 2020 #19
What percentage are anti-vax lunatics? NurseJackie Apr 2020 #20
Well, there's this diagram... jberryhill Apr 2020 #33
Hmm. Not what I was looking for. NurseJackie Apr 2020 #42
I know one of them. llmart Apr 2020 #58
Ohhh boy...way beyond a Clinton child sex ring in a pizza joint basement Bengus81 Apr 2020 #22
Someone actually told me she heard the virus was developed Katinfl Apr 2020 #25
30% of the public are lacking in critical thinking skills and instead are magical thinkers. Thomas Hurt Apr 2020 #26
I would not say "Made" but "leaked" from a lab. 1 slip up is all it ever takes. And since this virus LiberalArkie Apr 2020 #29
You leap from possibility to "more than likely" with no evidence for your leap. That's nonsense. .nt Bernardo de La Paz Apr 2020 #32
. jberryhill Apr 2020 #34
Pretty. Did you read the Washing post story? LiberalArkie Apr 2020 #36
Do, Please, Let Us Know What Your Point Is, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #60
I think it the illogic LiberalArkie & the 30% use to jump from a straight report on a correlation Bernardo de La Paz Apr 2020 #61
One Does Hope So, Sir The Magistrate Apr 2020 #63
It was always reported that the Wuhan lab was working on viruses. LiberalArkie Apr 2020 #38
There are two labs in Wuhan. roamer65 Apr 2020 #41
I believe it is the Wuhan Institute of Virology LiberalArkie Apr 2020 #51
No EVIDENCE of accident. But because it is possible you BELIEVE it is a fact. It is NOT. Bernardo de La Paz Apr 2020 #49
All of them MAGAts Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Apr 2020 #30
All of them? jberryhill Apr 2020 #35
and 25% believe that President Obama isn't an American still_one Apr 2020 #31
Not surprised so many RW Republicans believe this, since the conspiracy-mongering about COVID-19 highplainsdem Apr 2020 #39
Those would be the idiots and fools supporting drumpf samsingh Apr 2020 #40
In the absence of a real investigation customerserviceguy Apr 2020 #43
Chinese scientists poisoned the well? 70sEraVet Apr 2020 #46
those idiots in the back of your high school classes... dhill926 Apr 2020 #48
Probably the 30% that supports rump. Like I said before, these idiots are going to get us in a ... SWBTATTReg Apr 2020 #54
Why do I smell Putin? Botany Apr 2020 #55
30 percent of this country are not smart enough to get out of bed in the morning. redstatebluegirl Apr 2020 #56
Its a hoax Bayard Apr 2020 #57
Virus created in Lab marieo1 Apr 2020 #59
NUTS!! This isn't sarcasm, right? Duppers Apr 2020 #62
2 words: Fox "News" Duppers Apr 2020 #65
Love nature marieo1 Apr 2020 #66
You are a most naive person. Duppers Apr 2020 #69
Jesus this shit is scary not much of a mystery how 45 got in. Woodwizard Apr 2020 #67
Here's a link where Intelligence is looking into it. Pisces Apr 2020 #68
It fits into wingers paranoid obsession with China. nt Duppers Apr 2020 #70
Wingers are not happy unless they have Duppers Apr 2020 #71

Bernardo de La Paz

(48,988 posts)
9. Yeah. It's being pushed by ZeroHedge (Bulgaria; read Putin) & GreatGameIndia
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 02:31 AM
Apr 2020

https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-how-one-particular-coronavirus-myth-went-viral/

Until January, GreatGameIndia.com—an Indian website that bills itself as a “Journal on Geopolitics and International Relations”—was a microscopic blip on the internet, reaching just 30,000 to 50,000 visitors a month. It published numerous conspiracy theories about anything from Indian politics to the 2014 crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine.


ZeroHedge started as a financial blog in 2009, created by a Bulgarian hedge fund analyst who was barred from the U.S. financial industry in 2008 for insider trading. The site is now best known for its pro-Kremlin commentary and false stories about Hunter Biden that spurred waves of right-wing misinformation during the impeachment hearings last fall.


Many Putin operations seem to emerge from Bulgaria.

AtheistCrusader

(33,982 posts)
45. Absolutely not. That is NOT what the WAPO article says.
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 11:19 AM
Apr 2020

The crazy conspiracy theory is that it was *MADE* in a lab. (context: a bio weapon.)

There *is* a possibility it was being studied in a lab and escaped. These viruses are natural, and that area has had problems with swine and bat related coronaviruses in the past, so it makes sense they'd be studying them.

If our own CDC was studying potential seasonal flu strains to figure out which one would be a problem that year, and it escaped the lab, you would not say it was *MADE* in a lab.

AtheistCrusader

(33,982 posts)
53. No worries. THere are some media sources that are purposely obfuscating the difference
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 11:49 AM
Apr 2020

to foment the conspiracy theories highlighted in the OP. There was even a time I used to read ZeroHedge. Not anymore.

The Magistrate

(95,244 posts)
23. The 'Keyes Constant', Sir
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 08:59 AM
Apr 2020

It pops up in many places.

It is derived from the portion of the vote Alan Keyes garnered when running against Mr. Obama for Senator in Illinois. That was 27%. This is taken as an indicator of the bedrock strength of purblind idiocy among the voting public, there being no reason besides that why anyone should want to see Alan Keyes in public office. Because the contest was between two black men, some maintain the constant is 'pure', ie untainted by racist motivation, and so an expression of pure idiocy. I am not so sure of this, but see the sense in that proposition....

mopinko

(70,070 posts)
44. i like it.
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 11:12 AM
Apr 2020

sounds like a valid measure.

science into cooperation in animals shows that a flock/school/herd can carry approx 20% freeloaders before the protective influence of the group breaks down.
i suspect that adding the niceties of laws and rules and norms, that number goes up.
i was thinking it pushed it to about 30%. i will accept 27% as established by stats.

many thanks, sir.

(good to see you back. i resented your return w/o me there to welcome you more than any other day while i was in jail.)

Bernardo de La Paz

(48,988 posts)
6. And maybe 30 % of Hindus believe Muslims are responsible
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 02:15 AM
Apr 2020

I'm not sure about the 30%, but it is high enough to be a cause of concern in India, as reported by the Guardian.

The Magistrate

(95,244 posts)
27. And Allowed By Modi's Government, Sir, To Mob And Lynch In Accord With That Belief
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 10:05 AM
Apr 2020

Said 'allowance' being so gross as to constitute positive incitement from on high.

It is a damnable situation, and the most likely precursor of a mass expulsion or even a genocide looming in the world today.

lunasun

(21,646 posts)
12. Gonna guess this would play well with the same type that tried to gather in Roswell or those Q nuts
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 03:30 AM
Apr 2020

Or maybe just plain old trumpers who think Obama was born in Kenya

DFW

(54,330 posts)
14. When I was in my early teens, a record came out called "Dracula's Greatest Hits."
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 04:18 AM
Apr 2020

One of the numbers was called "Monster Goose Rhymes," one of which was:

There was a mad scientist, he lived in a lab
He had twenty foot monsters laid out on a slab
But don't be afraid, there's no reason to scream
It's the Transylvania Globetrotters basketball team

I get the impression that 3 out of 10 Americans today would believe it.

truthisfreedom

(23,141 posts)
15. Science doesn't care what you believe.
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 04:35 AM
Apr 2020

Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

You know, there's absolutely no logic to designing a virus that affects every single country the same way. It's not a useful weapon. It's like setting a wildfire when everything is flammable.

Duppers

(28,117 posts)
64. Excellent rant!
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 03:47 PM
Apr 2020

Wish he'd kept the same writers.

Btw, Harry Belafonte is still alive! He's 93! 👍

Woodwizard

(841 posts)
17. Seems to be a correlation
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 06:53 AM
Apr 2020

Of people that believe in conspiracies, in general, our local county facebook page is full of them. Qanon, flat earth a lot of Q people also believe the earth is flat. The age group of them seems to be in the middle 20's on average. they post lots of youtube videos to prove their points............

If I was to use the county facebook page as a social metric I would be packing my bags.

NurseJackie

(42,862 posts)
20. What percentage are anti-vax lunatics?
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 07:31 AM
Apr 2020

Or is there a Venn diagram that would show what the intersection is.

llmart

(15,536 posts)
58. I know one of them.
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 12:44 PM
Apr 2020

She's one of my nieces and she tried to convince her mother (my sister) that this was created in a lab. She's been an anti-vaxxer for quite some time. She's also been very gullible most of her life. Believe it or not she does have a college degree, but one that didn't require her to take any science of course.

You cannot convince these types that they're wrong. They get emboldened by their special group of social media idiots.

Bengus81

(6,931 posts)
22. Ohhh boy...way beyond a Clinton child sex ring in a pizza joint basement
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 08:40 AM
Apr 2020

And....that building has never had a basement but that's not material to MAGOTS.

Katinfl

(156 posts)
25. Someone actually told me she heard the virus was developed
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 09:54 AM
Apr 2020

In China to eliminate the male population. She believed it because the person who told her was in the medical field and she assumed it was correct. I walked away in disbelief but this is how it is with a lot of people.

Thomas Hurt

(13,903 posts)
26. 30% of the public are lacking in critical thinking skills and instead are magical thinkers.
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 10:00 AM
Apr 2020

and a little paranoid.

LiberalArkie

(15,708 posts)
29. I would not say "Made" but "leaked" from a lab. 1 slip up is all it ever takes. And since this virus
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 10:15 AM
Apr 2020

is contagious before the person ever gets sick, if they ever do get sick. It is more than likely.

Bernardo de La Paz

(48,988 posts)
61. I think it the illogic LiberalArkie & the 30% use to jump from a straight report on a correlation
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 03:17 PM
Apr 2020

... to causation

jberryhill could have been more explicit on his point. I would have preferred that to speculating on it.

But to the supposed point: Concerns about a problem are not evidence that the problem caused the virus outbreak.

A possibility is not automatically "more than likely" or "almost certainly", phrases or similar that LiberalArkie has used.

Correlation is not causation.

But it is a common leap that people make who are not careful and precise about their reasoning.

The Magistrate

(95,244 posts)
63. One Does Hope So, Sir
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 03:41 PM
Apr 2020

I wish I could have as much confidence in the gentleman's sound judgement as you do.

The posting, which appears elsewhere even in this thread, could be taken to suggest there is reliable report supporting belief the thing was concocted in a laboratory. All the Washington Post article indicates is that two years ago, concern was expressed about containment protocols. It cannot even be taken for clear evidence containment protocols were still poor this year. Things may well have tightened up in the interim. There is no particular reason to suppose the Chinese government takes an especially slap-dash attitude in such matters. Reputable scientific reports of research into the ultimate origins of the virus are not at present giving uniform conclusions, and experts have suggested several possibilities, making some of the conclusions presented in that article on the subject not quite certainties.

LiberalArkie

(15,708 posts)
38. It was always reported that the Wuhan lab was working on viruses.
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 10:38 AM
Apr 2020

When working in a bio lab, there is always a possibility of a person making a mistake. Usually the lab are far away from people. The lab in Wuhan is located in the Wuhan hospital.

None of the early people who got sick had been to the market.

I still believe an accident. Things happen. If this had been a virus (like in the moves) where people got sick immediately then it would not have spread, but since it is possible to spread without being sick it was able to spread outside the lab very easily.

LiberalArkie

(15,708 posts)
51. I believe it is the Wuhan Institute of Virology
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 11:38 AM
Apr 2020

History
The Institute was founded in 1956 as the Wuhan Microbiology Laboratory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). In 1961, it became the South China Institute of Microbiology, and in 1962 was renamed Wuhan Microbiology Institute. In 1970, it became the Microbiology Institute of Hubei Province when the Hubei Commission of Science and Technology took over the administration. In June 1978, it was returned to the CAS and renamed Wuhan Institute of Virology.[4]

In 2015, the National Bio-safety Laboratory was completed at a cost of 300 million yuan ($44 million) at the Institute in collaboration with French engineers from Lyon, and was the first biosafety level 4 (BSL–4) laboratory to be built in mainland China.[2][5] The laboratory took over a decade to complete from its conception in 2003, and scientists such as U.S. molecular biologist Richard H. Ebright expressed concern of previous escapes of the SARS virus at Chinese laboratories in Beijing, and the pace and scale of China's plans for expansion into BSL–4 laboratories.[2] The Laboratory has strong ties to the Galveston National Laboratory in the University of Texas.[6] In 2020, Ebright called the Institute a "world-class research institution that does world-class research in virology and immunology".[6]


From Wikipedia

Bernardo de La Paz

(48,988 posts)
49. No EVIDENCE of accident. But because it is possible you BELIEVE it is a fact. It is NOT.
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 11:33 AM
Apr 2020

You are not logical.

You are indulging in magical thinking.

It is possible that a Russian agent may have seeded a Russian virus in Wuhan because the facility there would be a great cover.
That is only a possibility.
One of many possibilities. Without evidence.

Return to rational thinking. A possibility does not equate to certainty or even to "more than likely". Without pertinent evidence, a possibility remains only a possibility.

highplainsdem

(48,959 posts)
39. Not surprised so many RW Republicans believe this, since the conspiracy-mongering about COVID-19
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 10:52 AM
Apr 2020

started months ago with RW media. But it's depressing that so many young adults under 30 fall for this nonsense.

customerserviceguy

(25,183 posts)
43. In the absence of a real investigation
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 11:09 AM
Apr 2020

which China's autocratic rulers will not allow, rumors are bound to spring forth. It's the price that governments pay for being secretive.

70sEraVet

(3,483 posts)
46. Chinese scientists poisoned the well?
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 11:22 AM
Apr 2020

I've read about how during the middle ages, there would be some plague in a village and the inhabitants would go on a rampage, killing Jews. They suspected that Jews were poisoning the wells. And I would think, 'How ignorant. Thank goodness we live in an age of reason'.

SWBTATTReg

(22,100 posts)
54. Probably the 30% that supports rump. Like I said before, these idiots are going to get us in a ...
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 11:50 AM
Apr 2020

war or kill a lot of us. Perhaps it is time to ignore the nice rules of society, and go dig up our brass knuckles? I'm getting sick and tired of these idiots. At least perhaps now they are finding out that the CV isn't being selective in picking its victims, and kills all equally without discrimination! Sad. Maybe this will wake up people, especially those who have bee sleeping on the sidelines?

Bayard

(22,038 posts)
57. Its a hoax
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 12:06 PM
Apr 2020

That's how my tRumper brother started. Then, he went to--it was created to bring down tRump and our economy. Now--are you wearing your mask and gloves? Don't forget your glasses, because it can infect you through your eyes.

Every once in awhile, we get into a knock-down-drag-out text battle on politics. But we love each other, and I know he'd do anything in the world for me--he's proven it time and again.

Haven't heard back yet if he'll vote for tRump again. He still gets his news from Fox. He hated Obama.

marieo1

(1,402 posts)
59. Virus created in Lab
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 01:04 PM
Apr 2020

I totally believe the virus came from a lab. I believe it was either accidental or intentional but I believe and will always believe it came from a lab, why not? Since DJT and a lot of his followers, people DJT selected, have been tested for the virus and not one of them have had it. I believe they know something the rest of us don't know!! I.E. a vaccine maybe!! Most of DJT's followers are vicious, mean-spirited, hateful people!! Of course, even if they knew they would deny it. They have learned that lesson well, all DJT does is deny any wrongdoing. They will go to any lengths to get rid of the rest of us.

Duppers

(28,117 posts)
62. NUTS!! This isn't sarcasm, right?
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 03:33 PM
Apr 2020

Most of what you've posted is Faux News propaganda. Just not the part about "followers are vicious, mean-spirited, hateful people!!"


Duppers

(28,117 posts)
65. 2 words: Fox "News"
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 03:51 PM
Apr 2020

Last edited Tue Apr 14, 2020, 08:43 PM - Edit history (2)

I never watch it, but tuned in days ago, and caught them discussing this. The reason I tuned in was on a hunch that the source was Fox News.

I have neighbors espousing this unreasonable theory that it was created in a lab as a bioweapon in China.





marieo1

(1,402 posts)
66. Love nature
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 06:03 PM
Apr 2020

I am a very liberal democrat and have never watched Fox news in my life. I just happen to love nature, our forests, the sky, lakes , etc. It is hard for me to believe nature could create something as vicious as the coronavirus. I know there are hurricanes, tornados, floods, etc that take a lot of lives and are destructive but to me this seems different, like some a vicious, evil beast that is trying to devour our planet.

Duppers

(28,117 posts)
69. You are a most naive person.
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 08:34 PM
Apr 2020

I absolutely adore nature too but know soil can contain microbes that could kill me:
tetanus, anthrax, and botulism, for instance, exist naturally in nature.

Do you not realize that over the history of the world there have been many pandemics which took millions of lives - and most of these pandemics existed before there were ever human labs.

Read: https://www.livescience.com/worst-epidemics-and-pandemics-in-history.html


Duppers

(28,117 posts)
71. Wingers are not happy unless they have
Tue Apr 14, 2020, 08:47 PM
Apr 2020

They have a big bad Boogeyman somewhere. They thrive on hate.

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