Fact check: Obama administration did not send $3.7 million to Wuhan lab

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The origins of the coronavirus have become an increasingly hot-button issue, allowing conspiracy theories to gain traction online and among high-profile officials.

Claims that the U.S. government helped fund research into coronaviruses spread after the Daily Mail reported it obtained documents that “show the Wuhan Institute of Virology undertook coronavirus experiments on mammals captured more than 1,000 miles away in Yunnan – funded by a $3.7 million grant from the US government.”

The report gained traction on social media, and the claim was repeated by political figures.

“For years, the US government has been funding cruel animal experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which may have contributed to the global spread of COVID-19,” Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., tweeted April 13. Gaetz praised President Donald Trump on Fox News for "committing to end this America Last grant given to labs in Wuhan by the Obama administration!"

During a news conference April 17, a Newsmax reporter asked Trump about the grant money. "We will end that grant very quickly,” Trump said. “It was made a number of years ago. Who was president then, I wonder?"

Social media posts insinuated that research was linked to the pandemic.

https://news.yahoo.com/fact-check-obama-administration-did-090034340.html

A lot of idiots believing this.

[JCMach1]

1. Fact check. Trump Admin sent funding

https://www.newsweek.com/dr-fauci-backed-controversial-wuhan-lab-millions-us-dollars-risky-coronavirus-research-1500741

[maxsolomon]

2. That article.

They violate a basic rule: tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em.

You have to get past the jump before you learn that there are shades of gray, not black or white, and Repukes are full of shit as usual.

Great work, Yahoo.

[Frustratedlady]

3. Matt Gaetz. He certainly pops up in strange situations, doesn't he?

Still praising Trump, eh?

You don't hear anything from him and then, up he pops. Slimy little bastid.

[AntiFascist]

4. Um, that conspiracy theory is backwards...

the Obama Admin actually imposed a moratorium on dangerous "Gain-of-Function" research that researchers wanted to use for developing treatments for coronaviruses, like, for example, remdesivir which was being researched at the US sponsored Wuhan lab. Dr. Fauci and others were pushing for these limits to be relaxed around the time Trump took office.