White House Updates COVID.gov Page to Reflect Support for Lab Leak Theory
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White House Redirects COVID.gov to Promote Lab Leak Theory
On April 18, 2025, the White House redirected visitors from COVID.gov to a new landing page titled "Lab Leak: True Origins of COVID-19." The page lays out a five-point argument supporting the theory that COVID-19 originated from an accidental lab leak in Wuhan, China.
The site draws heavily from the final report issued by the Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in December 2024. While there has never been definitive evidence or a consensus explaining the origins of the virus, the new White House page claims the virus has unnatural characteristics, all early cases stem from a single introduction, Wuhan hosts China’s top SARS lab, lab researchers were reportedly sick in late 2019, and that natural origin evidence has not surfaced.
Until recently, COVID.gov had served as a hub for testing, treatment, vaccine information, and Long COVID resources.
The updated page also revisits long-standing accusations against former NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, alleging he was involved in editing and promoting a 2020 scientific paper favoring the natural origin theory. The page suggests the paper was intended to discredit the lab leak hypothesis—a claim both Fauci and the paper’s authors have previously denied.
Fauci addressed these accusations during a 2024 congressional hearing, stating:
"The accusation that I influenced scientists by bribing them with grant money is absolutely false and preposterous... I had no input into the paper’s content."
He also denied trying to cover up the lab leak theory, asserting the opposite was true.
The debate over COVID-19’s origins has persisted since the early days of the pandemic, largely centered around two possibilities: a natural spillover or a lab accident. Declassified intelligence reports in 2021 and 2023 revealed that U.S. agencies remained divided, but generally ruled out the possibility of the virus being engineered as a biological weapon.
The new landing page also criticizes federal agencies such as NIH and HHS for lack of transparency, though records show these agencies complied with FOIA requests and testified before Congress. It further challenges the effectiveness of pandemic-era policies like masking and lockdowns and targets the COVID response in New York.
A photo of Fauci and a reference to a pardon from former President Joe Biden—stating it was for “any offenses”—features prominently on the page.
In past remarks, President Trump has also expressed that the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan had strained his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, though he maintained a generally positive tone about their personal rapport.
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