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What Covid “Lab Leak” and “Rushing Kids into Transition” Have in Common
and more general thoughts about conspiracy theories and negativity bias
Note: I did not intend for this essay to come out the day the United States v. Skrmetti Supreme Court decision dropped. But I suppose it is fitting since it’s a consequence of the phenomenon I describe here.
A couple months ago, I was listening to a podcast I regularly enjoy. The hosts are smart and well-read and often insightful in their analyses — I feel like I have learned a lot from them over the years. Which is why I was caught off guard when, during a recent episode, they gave credence to the Covid “lab leak” theory. While they did not fully endorse the theory per se, they portrayed it as quite plausible. More to the point, they played up the idea that there was a mass “cover up” to prevent people from “learning the facts” in the case, and that rather than media “suppressing the truth,” journalists should instead be allowed to “just ask questions” about these issues (these are not verbatim quotes, but rather paraphrases of the arguments made).
Notably, despite claiming that they wanted a full airing of the facts, they made zero attempt to accurately tell the other side of the story. In reality, experts in the field of virology have come to a…
