U.S. govt concocts proof to discredit China on virus origins: report

CGTN

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The U.S. government is gearing up efforts to manipulate American media outlets with a series of tactics to discredit China on COVID-19 origins, the

Global Times

reported on Friday citing an exclusive source familiar with the matter.

The tactics include "feeding the U.S. media fake information to fabricate the 'China lab-leak theory'," encouraging some media to stir up the "Chinese wildlife market theory" for virus origins, manipulating its media to strengthen positive reports about Fort Detrick, and hyping reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) and international scientific community which were negative for China, according to the source.

The source said high-level U.S. officials believe that U.S. intelligence agencies have not yet obtained substantial evidence for the "Chinese origins theory" or the "China lab-leak theory."

While China's position of upholding the China-WHO joint study report and opposing all politicization of virus-tracing has won the support and recognition of many countries, the U.S. government leverages its dominant position of its media in international communication, and creates a favorable public opinion that believes discrediting and blaming China is the right thing to do, as a way to resist the "counterattack from China," according to the source.

Despite it is widely believed that the coronavirus was almost certainly not created via artificial means, the

Global Times

reported previously, citing sources as saying that the U.S. government is pushing forward the campaign smearing China as the "source of the coronavirus" as the Joe Biden-set deadline for the 90-day investigation into the virus' origins is approaching.

The U.S. government is forcing China's neighbors to pick their side through baits including vaccine aid, talent training and industrial investment, as well as pressuring the WHO and marshaling its allies to launch a "second-phase origin-tracing" probe on China, the sources added.

(Cover via CFP)