I am a behind when it comes to the conspiracy theory trends. Are western countries suggesting that the virus escaped from the lab because of negligence or that it was intentionally released as a bioweapon?
Both, depending on who you talk to
Both theories are being actively promoted, with more mainstream outlets focusing on negligence but keeping the door open for bioweapon version.
Trump, himself, claimed it after Q-Anon type spaces started saying it. “Wuhan Virus” was the far-right’s word for Covid for a loooong time, before being replaced by “China Flu”, and the conspiracy contributed to a lot of anti-Asian hate crimes in the US.
Some of the people who pushed the conspiracy still believe it, some don’t. But, the general consensus in the theory is that it was a bioweapon to cripple the US and/or kill off Chinese people because… ya know… “china bad”
