A manuscript published in the British Medical Journal, which Peter Daszak participated in, denounced claims that the virus came from a lab.

Nov 7, 2026

Previously: A manuscript published in the British Medical Journal, which Peter Daszak participated in, denounced claims that the virus came from a lab. [Accurate]: A statement published in The Lancet (often conflated with the BMJ) in early 2020, which Peter Daszak helped organize, condemned conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin. The statement stood in solidarity with scientists in China and supported the scientific consensus at that time that the virus originated in wildlife.

Now: A manuscript published in the British Medical Journal, which Peter Daszak participated in, denounced claims that the virus came from a lab. [Distorted]: McCullough is describing the February 2020 solidarity statement signed by Peter Daszak in The Lancet, not the British Medical Journal. It condemned non-natural-origin conspiracy theories. The first pass itself identified the Lancet statement but incorrectly rated the full BMJ attribution accurate. This publication mix-up does not settle the origin or prove a cover-up.

Correct our accurate label despite the explicitly wrong journal; use the publisher's authorship addendum.