COVID-19 was created in a lab in China.
Posted by The Gerry Callahan Show, Checked
- Sources
- 4 contradict4 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
The Gerry Callahan ShowAug 4, 2026
The claim states as settled fact that COVID-19 was created in a Chinese lab, but the sources say the origin is unknown and that the weight of scientific evidence favors natural zoonotic spillover. Fact-checkers and scientific outlets rejected the claim that a lab origin is confirmed, though U.S. intelligence agencies hold a lab origin as plausible with low-to-moderate confidence.
A played clip makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post.
What we found
Contradicts. FactCheck.org (2025) says the claim that a lab origin is 'confirmed by several intelligence agencies' is incorrect, noting the origin is unknown and multiple lines of evidence point to natural spillover.[1]
Contradicts. PolitiFact rated the claim that COVID-19 was constructed at the Wuhan institute as False, saying there is no evidence the virus was created there; its 2021 editor's note acknowledges the lab-origin question remains more disputed.[2]
Contradicts. Scientific American (tier2) describes the claim that the virus was engineered in a Chinese lab as false, citing the intelligence community's position that it was not man-made or genetically modified.[7]
Contradicts. The WHO expert group's 2025 report found most scientific data supports animal-to-human spillover, while being unable to evaluate a lab accident because data from China was not provided.[3]
Context. The ODNI and intelligence reporting describe both natural and lab origins as plausible, with some agencies at low or moderate confidence in a lab accident, so a lab origin is not ruled out but is unproven.[4][8]
Context. Some sources (White House lab-leak page, 2025 PMC commentary) argue for a lab origin, but these are advocacy or contested positions rather than settled findings.[5][6]
Sources
8 sources: 4 fact-checkers, 2 primary, 1 tier 2, 1 not rated
- 1Trump Administration Incorrectly Claims Certainty About ...factcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Pa. Rep. Scott Perry airs debunked claim that Wuhan lab ' ...politifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 3COVID origins remain a mystery after WHO expert ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 4U.S. spy agencies say origins of COVID-19 may never be knownreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 5Lab Leak: The True Origins of Covid-19whitehouse.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 6On the Controversies Surrounding the Lab-Leak Theory of ...pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 7Eight Persistent COVID-19 Myths and Why People Believe ...scientificamerican.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
- 8Did covid-19 come from a lab leak in China?bmj.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- U.S. taxpayer funds were used to fund gain-of-function research that led to the coronavirus epidemic at the direction of Anthony Fauci.False
- The Wuhan Institute of Virology is run by a general and its experiments were approved by a general using military budget funds.Mixed
- The Chinese government claims its biological warfare program is ahead of the United States' program.Can’t tell