Then it became clear that the Chinese govt wasn't going to investigate or admit if it was a leak, accidental or not. At which point I file as we'll never know + who cares at this point.
And then after that it blew up as a political football in the US. It's not fake news, it's just pointless opinions.
Fake news is saying it was a lab leak, or it wasn't a lab leak. Neither is a true statement. Both are polarising and ill informed positions.
In any case, I don't disagree with your premise that we can be manipulated quite easily.
But reputable media reporting on people saying "it may be a lab leak" as conspiracists is manipulation and "fake news". I didn't know it was so widely believed on US left but apparently it was.
> At which point I file as we'll never know + who cares at this point
We just went through a pandemic with pretty bad effects, so... everyone?
Yes you misunderstood because I worded that badly and glibly. We can't know and the issue is so muddied and we had a lot to deal with. The virus was already out, knowing wouldn't put it back. The best reaction is to reconsider all these labs anyway.
The problem is that what you think of as "made up shit" and "lying" can be manipulated without you knowing.
For example, Covid lab leak theory was deliberately made to look like fake news by some guys who would lose money if it were true: https://web.archive.org/web/20210709212358id_/https://www.bm...
There is no need to be a conspiracist to simply understand that with 100% likelihood at any time there is something true that you think is fake news, no matter which side you are on.