Washington Post frets Facebook allowing posts on lab-leak theory will lead to anti-Asian discrimination

The Washington Post worried in a new report that Asian-Americans could be harmed with Facebook now allowing posts that claim the coronavirus was manmade.

"The reopening of debate presents challenging issues for Facebook because the claim has also been associated with a wave of anti-Asian sentiment," the Post reported Friday, in a story headlined, "Facebook’s reversal on banning claims that covid-19 is man-made could unleash more anti-Asian sentiment."

Facebook issued its stark reversal after saying in February it would remove posts claiming the virus was manmade or manufactured "following consultations with leading health organizations, including the World Health Organization" who had "debunked" the claim. Since then, more experts have said the claim merits investigation, including some like Dr. Anthony Fauci who initially dismissed the idea and formerly embraced the animal origins hypothesis. 

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The Post quoted Jona Donovan Harvard Kennedy School researcher who said to look out for an "uptick in content that criticizes China, while dividing the AAPI community" and "content that dehumanizes Chinese people."

The Bulwark's Sonny Bunch criticized the story's framing, saying any Chinese government malfeasance merited criticism.

"The claim that the coronavirus is man-made, long dismissed by the scientific community as a harmful conspiracy, has recently been reopened because of new findings. That includes news that three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick enough in November 2019 that they sought hospital care," the Post reported.

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The Post was among the numerous outlets to amplify the "conspiracy" claims, dismissing Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., last year as touting a "debunked conspiracy theory" that the virus' spread was connected to research in Wuhan. The Wuhan Institute of Virology conducts bat coronavirus experiments and was known to have lab safety concerns prior to the pandemic.

The Washington Post also published a fact-check timeline this week that declared the lab-leak theory "suddenly became credible." The same section published a video last year that chief fact-checker Glenn Kessler hailed as proving the lab-leak was "virtually impossible."

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Kessler mocked Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, last year for questioning the "scientific animation" in the video. It also featured Peter Daszak, president of the EcoHealth Alliance which helped fund coronavirus research at the Wuhan institute, praising the autocratic Chinese government as "incredibly open."

Fox Business' Thomas Barrabi contributed to this report.