White House launches website promoting COVID-19 lab leak theory

The White House unveiled a new website on Friday that sharply revives debate over the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, promoting the theory that the virus was engineered in a lab in Wuhan, China, and leaked—intentionally or not—into the population.

The move marks a significant pivot from previous federal messaging, shifting away from Covid.gov’s prior focus on vaccine, testing, and treatment resources. That domain now redirects users to the newly launched site, which features assertions that go further than many official reports have previously stated.

Among the claims, the site states that the virus “possesses a biological characteristic that is not found in nature” and argues that if a natural origin existed, it “would have already surfaced. But it hasn’t.”

These claims come despite assessments by US intelligence agencies and global health experts who remain divided. In January, the CIA concluded that a lab-related origin was “likely,” but noted the assessment was made with “low confidence.”

Similarly, the Department of Energy and the State Department have issued cautious support for the lab leak theory, while acknowledging the lack of definitive evidence.

The World Health Organization (WHO) maintains that it is still considering all possible origins, including a natural spillover from animals to humans, as initially observed in the Wuhan market. Many virologists continue to argue that early patterns of infection support this scenario, though they acknowledge the origin may never be fully determined.

The new White House site appears to echo findings from the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, which concluded last year that the virus most likely emerged from a lab. That report, linked on the site, stands in contrast to a competing Democratic report that emphasized the need for more transparency but did not assert a definitive origin.

In a Fox News appearance Friday afternoon, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary backed the decision to launch the site, saying, “I think people want some closure. The entire nightmare of Covid for three-plus years was likely entirely avoidable, had we not [been] messing with Mother Nature in a way that they should not have.” Makary also referenced public frustration over extended school closures and vaccine mandates.

The website also details a litany of perceived failures in the federal pandemic response—highlighting issues such as lockdowns, mask mandates, and funding for infectious disease research. It includes pointed criticism of the Department of Health and Human Services for what it describes as obstruction of congressional investigations.

A notable section is dedicated to former President Joe Biden’s hypothetical pardon of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci has been a frequent target of criticism from Trump-aligned officials and lawmakers.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who served as Health and Human Services Secretary under President Donald Trump, is among those whose views align with the site’s tone. He has been outspoken against the Biden administration’s pandemic response and particularly critical of gain-of-function research—experiments that alter viruses to better understand their behavior.

Republican lawmakers have renewed calls to reinstate a ban on such research, which was lifted during Trump’s term. While the Biden administration stopped short of a full ban, it issued new oversight guidance last year that will take effect this May.