Coronavirus is a bioweapon leaked from a Wuhan lab.
The story originated from a video published to YouTube on February 21, 2020, titled "CORONAVIRUS : SCIENTISTS SAY IT\S A BIO WEAPON LEAKED FROM WUHAN LAB !" (archived here)., , Users on social media only saw this:, Version sous-titrée en français : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfzo7e8xcrM #coronavirus #bioweapon #wuhan, The video report made a number of claims about the origins of the coronavirus that were all very speculative in nature. It cited The Washington Times newspaper, which had reported on January 26, 2020, that the new coronavirus may have originated in a lab in Wuhan. It quoted an Israeli biological warfare analyst who was speculating about this possibility. Lead Stories has written about similar claims before (here and here)., The journal Science reported on February 19, 2020, that a group of 27 health officials had issued a statement, which was published by The Lancet a day earlier. In it, the authors "strongly condemned" the rumors and conspiracy theories about the origins of the coronavirus outbreak., They added that scientists from several countries "overwhelmingly conclude that this coronavirus originated in wildlife," which is how many other viruses have spread. The statement went on to say:, Conspiracy theories do nothing but create fear, rumours, and prejudice that jeopardise our global collaboration in the fight against this virus., "Londons Daily and Sunday Express newspaper quoted a scientist from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chen Quanjiao, who said:", The Wuhan Institute of Virology has no infections, and the patient zero did not come from us., As of February 25, 2020, the novel coronavirus has killed at least 2,600 people and infected nearly 80,000 people in 37 countries, according to The New York Times., We wrote about fake news on YouTube before. Here are our most recent articles that mention the site:, See who is sharing it (it might even be your friends...) and leave the link in the comments.:, Lead Stories is working with the CoronaVirusFacts/DatosCoronaVirus Alliance, a coalition of more than 100 fact-checkers who are fighting misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more about the alliance here., "Ryan Cooper, a staff writer and fact-checker for Lead Stories, is the former Director of Programming at CNN International, where he helped shape the networks daily newscasts broadcast to more than 280 million households around the world. He was based at the networks Los Angeles Bureau. There, he managed the team responsible for a three-hour nightly program,\xa0Newsroom LA.", "Formerly, he worked at the headquarters in Atlanta, and he spent four years at the London bureau. An award-winning producer, Cooper oversaw the networks Emmy Award-winning coverage of the uprising in Egypt in 2011. He also served as a supervising producer during much of the networks live reporting on the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in 2006, for which CNN received an Edward R. Murrow Award.", Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, deceptive or\n      inaccurate stories (or media) making the rounds on the internet.\n      \n      Spotted something? Let us know!., Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, deceptive or\n        inaccurate stories (or media) making the rounds on the internet.\n        \n        Spotted something? Let us know!.
Fact Check: NO Evidence Coronavirus Is Bioweapon Leaked From Wuhan Lab | Lead Stories