Amazon’s new Borat special has slapped an “untrue” label on the theory that the coronavirus was developed in a lab in Wuhan, China. The fact check comes despite ongoing debate and growing calls from within the U.S. government for investigations into the origins of the outbreak.
The special also accuses former President Donald Trump of blaming the pandemic on “China and its people,” without any evidence that he has blamed anyone other than the Communist regime that rules China.
Borat’s American Lockdown & Debunking Borat, which began streaming last week, re-visits “Jim” and “Jerry,” Borat’s (Sacha Baron Cohen) conservative housemates from the recent Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. In the first episode of the new special, Jim argued the coronavirus was “developed in China,” adding “they made a virus that kills people.”
The show put an “untrue” label on Jim’s comments and further addressed his claims in episode 5, “Debunking Borat: China Virus.”
“From the moment the outbreak began, many influential figures began to spread unfounded accusations,” the narrator said. “U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton sent a tweet connecting the coronavirus to a Wuhan laboratory.”
Later, the narrator added, “Even after scientists confirmed that the virus was not manmade, conspiracies continued to expand exponentially.”
In recent days, the Wuhan lab theory has gained some credence among officials who had previously dismissed it following a Wall Street Journal report saying that individuals from a Wuhan lab were hospitalized with symptoms consistent with the coronavirus.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has recently expressed support for investigating multiple theories of where the virus came from, including possibly the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden’s Director of National Intelligence said the coronavirus originating from a Chinese lab is in the realm of possibility. As Breitbart News reported, the statement came after Biden reversed course and asked intelligence agencies to look into the virus’ origin after shutting down former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s investigation.
Facebook has also stopped censoring posts addressing the possible origins of the coronavirus, including whether it is man-made.
The Borat show also made a false claim about former President Trump: “As the death toll rose in the U.S., Donald Trump blamed China and its people,” the narrator said. The accompanying graphics highlighted Trump’s use of the phrase “China virus.”
The show provides no evidence that Trump has ever blamed the “Chinese people” for the pandemic. Breitbart News has not found any instances of him doing so, either. Trump has stated that he used the term “China virus” because the virus originated in China.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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