Nearly one-third of the United States population believes that COVID-19 was a man-made virus. On July 5th, 2020 SKYNEWS released a Youtube video featuring two supposed experts, examining their claim that COVID-19 was a manmade virus. Sir Richard Dearlove is one of the men featured in the video and is the former head of security at M16.  Professor Angus Dalgleish is the other person showed in the video. The two men had written a paper dedicated to their belief that COVID was a manufactured virus that escaped from the Wuhan lab. Dearlove and Dalgleish both back this theory. A few people such as Dearlove and Dalgleish are spreading this false narrative, speaking out of their area of expertise. 

Claim 1: “Theres no proof of how it… jumped and adapted to humans” (2:01)

Dearlove’s first support to this claim is that it is impossible for an animal virus to evolve enough to possess humans. In the research video it is stated that “theres no proof of how it… jumped and adapted to humans.” This is simply an untrue statement given as a fact.  It is not only Dearlove that believes this, but also Angus Dalgleish backs this claim. Professionals in the medical field have spoken out on this topic for many years, especially related to the SARS pandemic in the early 2000’s. One disease specialist, Colin Parrish, has explained that it is entirely possible for adaptation to happen in viruses based on human factors. The actions of humans, such as consuming an animal carrying a virus, can make the human race much more susceptible to these illnesses. Scientist Josh Fischman explains that the likelihood of the jumping of the virus is also not a one in a million chance, “the virus has many chances to jump.” Viruses are constantly changing to maintain survival and will adapt to take on new environments to do so. COVID is not the only virus that has adapted to humans. Parrish later backs this claim by explaining that many human viruses such as measles and small pox are perfect examples of an animal virus evolving. The concept that it is impossible for humans to naturally contract COVID from animals is simply untrue and illogical. 

“Expert” 1:Sir Richard Dearlove the former head of M16 (0:24-1:21)

Sir Richard Dearlove is the first “expert” shown in the video, making his first appearance at 24 seconds. He is the former head of M16 which is a secret intelligence agency. He is far from a credible source, having no work or knowledge in the medical field. Professor Gordon Dougan works in genomics and has discredited Dearlove and his claims from the beginning. Due to Dearlove speaking out of an area he has no professional knowledge in, his claims are invalid and should not be looked at seriously. 

Claim 2: “It is an engineered escapee from the Wuhan institute” (0:28)

The next claim in the video made by Dearlove is that “[COVID] is an engineered escapee from the Wuhan Institute”. Dearlove believes that since COVID was first seen near the Wuhan Institute, it should be assumed that it was an experiment gone wrong in lab that escaped to the public. He is simply searching for a simple answer to a complex situation. His partner Angus Dalgleish also believes this statement and backs in wholeheartedly. Just because the first case was documented in Wuhan, does not mean it actually was the place of origin. Fischman speaks on behalf of many when explaining that the virus was circulating long before it became a well-known thing. Viruses are often hard to catch early on and it is wrong to hold the region where it was first documented accountable for it. Scientists have examined and traced the virus to bats. One of these experts, Jie Cui, stated that it “likely originated in bats, and genetically diverse coronaviruses…were discovered in bats worldwide.” This virus is not something new or created, but rather one that has been naturally occurring in various life forms for quite some time. Smriti Mallapaty has come forth to explain, the virus could very well have been spreading rapidly before we had knowledge of it. The likelihood of the escape theory is small and nearly impossible when looking at the facts and background. 

“Expert” 2: Angus Dalgleish, consultant medical oncologist (1:36)

Angus Dalgleish is the second person shown in the video and worked hand in hand with Dearlove to write their medical paper on COVID. He is a consultant medical oncologist working in the area of cancer. Although he does work in the medical field, his area of expertise is not in viruses and disease. He is trustworthy when it comes to opinions in the area of cancer, but has no true knowledge when it comes to viruses. Dalgleish is not a good source for researching the background and spread of the coronavirus. 

Claim 3: The CDC “the virus is the consequence of … experiments” (0:43)

The final claim presented in the video is that “the virus is the consequence of… experiments”. Dearloves claims to have inside knowledge that the virus was purely an experiment gone wrong in the Wuhan Lab. However, he offers to real insight to this claim nor offers any of his supposed knowledge. In Parrish’s research, he found that the consumption of animals in China makes COVID much more likely to have naturally occurred and moved to humans. The virus is not something new, scientists have known about various strains of coronaviruses in animals for a while. The concept that the virus escaped from a lab requires much more complex possibilities than if it were naturally occurring. In a medical paper by Josh Fischman, it is said that the “lab leak idea relies on one event, or perhaps a small handful: a mistake in the lab”. The lab leak idea is simply an easy explanation for a much more complex issue. As lots of the previous claims stated, many of the people backing the lab theory are speaking out of their area of expertise according to Angelo Fichera. It is preposterous to trust these people’s claims when they had no expertise in where they are speaking. 

The theory of COVID being engineered and escaping from a lab is a prime example of a complexity bias. People lack knowledge and comprehension of the situation and turn to simple solutions or answers to make sense of it all. The possibility of the virus being an engineered escapee is very slim. In doing research with trustworthy sources, it would be practically impossible to believe otherwise. Professor Edward Holmes stated “coronaviruses… are commonly found in wildlife species and frequently jump to new hosts. This is the most likely explanation for the origin”. COVID is simply a devastating pandemic that arose from naturally occurring circumstances.

Featured image is a screenshot from the video “Former M16 chief claims coronavirus came from Wuhan lab“