Record of the Press · 2012–Present
Released to the public · 31 OCT 2026File TBL-0038
RETRACTED

COVID lab-leak hypothesis labeled a "debunked conspiracy theory"

16 FEB 2020 · The Washington Post, Facebook (platform policy)
Screenshot of the page as published at washingtonpost.com (via Wayback Machine)
EXHIBIT A — Page capture from washingtonpost.com (via Wayback Machine). Click to open the source.

■ The claim

In February 2020 The Washington Post said Sen. Tom Cotton was repeating a coronavirus conspiracy theory that had already been debunked, after he raised the possibility that the virus came from a Wuhan lab. Facebook later treated claims that the virus was man-made as removable misinformation.

■ What actually happened

No investigation had actually settled the virus's origin. In late May 2021, as the Biden administration ordered a fresh intelligence review, Facebook said it would no longer remove claims that COVID-19 was man-made, and The Washington Post corrected its 2020 story, removing the words "debunked" and "conspiracy theory" and changing the headline to describe a disputed fringe theory. In 2023 the Energy Department (low confidence) and FBI (moderate confidence) said a lab-related origin was most likely, and in January 2025 the CIA said the same with low confidence. The origin remains unresolved; other agencies have favored natural spillover, also with low confidence.

■ The proof

The Washington Post's correction to its Feb. 16, 2020 Cotton story (reported June 1, 2021), Facebook's May 26-27, 2021 policy reversal, and the 2023 DOE/FBI and January 2025 CIA assessments, none of which treat a lab origin as ruled out.

■ Original reporting

■ Corrections, findings & records

■ Wayback Machine copies

Stories sometimes get edited after publication. These links open the Internet Archive's earliest snapshot of each original.

Who it helped: DemocratsCast Trump-aligned lawmakers as conspiracy theorists.

■ Grade

RETRACTED: The outlet itself retracted, corrected, or settled. How we grade →