As Twitchy has reported, people like Alexander Vindman’s wife Rachel are declaring that the tornadoes that swept through several states last night were a “direct result of climate change,” and she can’t understand why people are so “slow to accept reality.” We haven’t heard Amanda Marcotte’s thoughts on the tornadoes, but she does name “climate change is a hoax” as a conspiracy theory. She also shames Matt Yglesias for entertaining the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic was born from a lab leak from the Institute of Virology in Wuhan.
This piece by @beyerstein gets at something really important: Most conspiracy theorists operate not by producing elaborate theories of their own, but by trying to discredit the truth. They disguise themselves as skeptics who are "just asking questions." https://t.co/di5uSb1LDp
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) December 11, 2021
"Climate change is a hoax," "vaccines don't work," and "the election was stolen" are rarely stated outright by savvy propagandists. Instead, they pose as people "asking questions" and let their audiences fill in the holes.
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) December 11, 2021
That's why it was journalistic malpractice of folks like @mattyglesias to bully the media into entertaining the "lab leak hypothesis". It's promoting a conspiracy theory, just as surely as if you elevated these voices denying climate change or vaccine efficacy.
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) December 11, 2021
Maybe she shouldn’t have tagged Yglesias in her tweet, because now she’s being bombarded by wingnuts.
Oof, from the replies I'm getting, it sure does look like Matt's audience is just full wingnut now. Which, good money, I guess. I would worry about the status of my soul.
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) December 11, 2021
Marcotte’s worried about the status of her soul.
Alina Chan is one of the co-authors of “Viral,” the book which is the subject of the New Republic piece that kicked of Marcotte’s thread.
When did @mattyglesias "bully the media into entertaining the lab leak hypothesis"?
Liberal journalists, can you please remind your peers that the media should address a lab #OriginOfCovid because it is considered plausible by prominent virologists + US intelligence community? https://t.co/iAnuit8eEf
— Alina Chan (@Ayjchan) December 11, 2021
Has the word "bully" changed to mean something else this month?
Have any journalists been bullied into entertaining the lab leak hypothesis? pic.twitter.com/LBf4u0iBuV
— Alina Chan (@Ayjchan) December 11, 2021
From the office of the Director of National Intelligence.
"All agencies assess that two hypotheses are plausible: natural exposure to an infected animal and a laboratory-associated incident."https://t.co/2L2wehrpZR
— Alina Chan (@Ayjchan) December 11, 2021
Does this mean I got bullied? pic.twitter.com/tmJBL7CF2s
— Alina Chan (@Ayjchan) December 11, 2021
Yeah, we’re blocked too, as if half of Twitter.
Is the above journalistic malpractice?
It's hard to tell because I perceive that the words "bully" and "journalistic malpractice" have different meanings to @Salon @amandamarcotte vs the rest of the functioning world.
— Alina Chan (@Ayjchan) December 11, 2021
Welcome to the club. She blocked me directly after this tweet: https://t.co/xNcLFPX6Di
— Jan Klimkowski (@JanKlimkowski) December 11, 2021
She blocked me too!
— @mbalter Still exposing abusers one perp at a time (@mbalter) December 11, 2021
She also blocked me … I suspect some zealous use of the "block everyone extension" on dozens of tweets considering a lab leak theory.
— Alexander Power (@p0w32) December 11, 2021
Her account auto-blocks anyone who responds to her threads.
— Alina Chan (@Ayjchan) December 11, 2021
Yes, you asked someone to explain something they said. #bully pic.twitter.com/3fEYCtLZX4
— George.btc Peacock (@Peacockg) December 11, 2021
So Jon Stewart is a “wingnut”?
— usual detritus (@usualdetritus) December 11, 2021
Imagine having beliefs so stupid and fragile that they can be discredited by asking questions. pic.twitter.com/atfzwPnG2j
— Quique (@quiquedcc) December 11, 2021
One thing I’ve learned by studying history? 🤔
The proponents of censorship are never the good guys.
Thank you for letting me know of another book that people should read to uncover the truth. pic.twitter.com/r3aLodaOQH
— I’ve our mectin. Do you? 😎 (@hoosierdoggie) December 11, 2021
“I’ve seen no evidence support lab leak conspiracy theory,” says blue-check *jouro* who blocks/mutes anyone who presents credible claims by credible scientists.
— Brandon Lesco (@DonDona26811517) December 11, 2021
It’s a wild conspiracy theory that a Chinese lab could accidentally release a naturally occurring virus that it was researching? Galaxy brain take. 🥴
— Judy 🇺🇸 (@callmejudy2k) December 11, 2021
Saying that a virus that emerged in the same city they were studying the exact same viral family might have been a lab leak does not make you a conspiracy theories.
Please STFU with this crap.
— AngloScot (@AngloScot2) December 11, 2021
Oh, Salon. TNR… not much better.
Wow, you people are stupid. Apparently, that is an entry criterion for employment there.
— Charles X Proxy™ (@Charlemagne0814) December 11, 2021
Hope Xi sees this.
— Michael (@gamecocklaw) December 11, 2021
Interesting hill to die on.
— DMB (@ambiturner1) December 11, 2021
By definition, an accident cannot be a "conspiracy."
Persons who use the term "conspiracy theory" to describe the possibility of accidental release reveal themselves to be unable to read, unable to reason, or uninterested in truth.
— Richard H. Ebright (@R_H_Ebright) December 11, 2021
How about a simple consideration of what might have happened, without any notion of "conspiracy theory?"
Try: "It could have been a lab leak; it could have been a spillover from nature." Why on earth did people try to shut down discussion of one of those possibilities?
— Jody Lanard MD (@EIDGeek) December 11, 2021
Amanda, you are literally the most gullible person on the internet. You’ve fallen for every major hoax that confirms left-wing priors, going at least as far back as Duke lacrosse and probably further. Perhaps sit this one out?
— Contrite bird (@pleasehandlethx) December 11, 2021
Totally amazing how all you Branch Covidians know how to do is block anyone who asks questions. How long you suppose that strategy can be successful?
— JamesMartin (@foardeetou) December 11, 2021
How dare anyone question the efficacy of a vaccine that is going to take at least two boosters and still won’t prevent you from catching or spreading COVID?
Related:
NBC News quotes scientist offering a reason the Wuhan lab leak theory was shot down until recently (Hint: ‘TDS at its worst’) https://t.co/usEMkzrpz8
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 17, 2021
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