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A comment on The Reemergent 1977 H1N1 Strain and the Gain-of-Function Debate (2015). Parent comment

Re:The Reemergent 1977 H1N1 Strain and the Gain-of-Function ... by shakna on Sunday September 19, 2021 @07:09AM (#28583385)
> The other article you cite disapprovingly mentions the author was claiming "lab leak" back in May 2020. That would seem a mark in favor of her reporting, no?

Not unless said reporting at the time actually had evidence to support the claim. A reporter has a duty to report based on actual evidence.

She has repeated misinformation, without that evidence, an argument you just used to dismiss the entirety of the Guardian, for all time, on one subject matter. Should that not equally apply to this reporter, then?

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Re:The Reemergent 1977 H1N1 Strain and the Gain-of-Function ... by ctrlp on Sunday September 19, 2021 @07:18AM (#28583433)
What is your evidence that she didn't have evidence? Lots of credible people were saying lab leak in 2020. I was there and following it closely. It wasn't hard to come by if you employed basic skepticism of the mainstream narrative.

I didn't dismiss the entirety of The Guardian for all time (straw-man, anyone?), I said I would be skeptical of anything they publish related to a contested narrative because they have shown repeated bias. What's wrong with that? I'm not telling you not to be skeptical of this journalist. It seems like you're really projecting your own beliefs here.

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Re:The Reemergent 1977 H1N1 Strain and the Gain-of-Function ... by shakna on Sunday September 19, 2021 @07:31AM (#28583491)
> What is your evidence that she didn't have evidence?

That is extremely easy to answer: She never presented any. Which is the entire point of everything I have said.

> I would be skeptical of anything they publish related to a contested narrative because they have shown repeated bias. What's wrong with that?

Nothing. It's the exact reason to not believe this journalist. As I have repeatedly pointed out.

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Re:The Reemergent 1977 H1N1 Strain and the Gain-of-Function ... by idiotsecant on Sunday September 19, 2021 @07:38AM (#28583529)
>What is your evidence that she didn't have evidence?

I'm no scientist but I'm pretty sure that's not how that works.

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Re:The Reemergent 1977 H1N1 Strain and the Gain-of-Function ... by ctrlp on Sunday September 19, 2021 @08:04AM (#28583667)
If someone makes a claim that many credible scientists are making publicly, the burden to present your evidence on a cable news segment is lessened. Regardless, the fact is she published a book and I assume it's got citations. The commenter merely asserted their claim as true and I wondered if they had good reasons to believe it.
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