A global pandemic. A maze of unanswered questions.

The lethal cost of Covid-19 has been felt around the world - but where did the virus come from? Did it leak from a lab, or is that just a conspiracy theory? #CovidLeak?

Tonight at 10.15 on @Channel4 1/
@Channel4 From the beginning, much attention was paid to Wuhan’s wet markets, where exotic animals were sold.

But surprising features of the virus - unusual in naturally occurring pathogens - led some scientists to wonder about its origins. #CovidLeak? 2/
@Channel4 Could controversial science have been the source of the deadly virus?

Many scientists are concerned about Gain of Function research which enhances the ability of pathogens to harm or infect humans. #CovidLeak? 3/
@Channel4 Gain of Function research was under a funding ban in the US from 2014 until 2017, but some researchers believe that American money funded research in China during that period.

Dr Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to the US President, vehemently denied it. #CovidLeak? 4/
@Channel4 As news outlets and social media suppressed discussions about a potential lab leak, a letter in Nature Medicine stated Covid-19 was "not a laboratory construct", and a letter in The Lancet stated the lab leak hypothesis was a “conspiracy theory” But was it? #CovidLeak? 5/
@Channel4 The World Health Organization has maintained throughout that a natural origin for Covid-19 is most likely. In January 2021, they arrived in China to begin an investigation.

But from the start, the investigation was severely constrained. #CovidLeak? 6/
@Channel4 After a year in which 4 million people have died of Covid-19, we still do not know for certain how it started - and we may never know.

What we do know is that the collection and testing of potentially dangerous pathogenic viruses is still going on. #CovidLeak? 7/
@Channel4 WATCH Did Covid Leak from a Lab in China? Tonight at 10.15 on @Channel4, then available on @All4. #CovidLeak?

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Channel 4 Dispatches

Channel 4 Dispatches Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @C4Dispatches

20 Jul
A 60-yr-old act of parliament says what happens in family courts must be kept secret.

Dispatches goes as far as the law will allow, to find out if family courts are letting victims of domestic abuse down. 1/

Torn Apart: Family Courts Uncovered, Tonight at 10pm on @Channel4
@Channel4 In January ‘21 there was a real chance to report more openly. 4 cases have been brought to the court of appeal. In these cases all 4 women had asked the family courts to take into account domestic abuse, but the judges had dismissed their claims. They want their cases reheard. 2
@Channel4 “It was also said that she couldn't possibly have been raped and that she was no shrinking violet.”

Because the Court of Appeal is held publicly, one of the Barristers leading the appeal, @DrProudman is able to speak publicly about what was said in court. 3/
Read 7 tweets
19 Jul
Dispatches has obtained this disturbing and never before seen footage of police forcibly removing children from their mother to be taken to go to live with their father. 1/

Torn Apart: Family Courts Uncovered - Tuesday at 10pm on @Channel4
@Channel4 There is no suggestion that the children are at risk of neglect or abuse with their mother. The children say they want to live with her. But the family court has ordered they be taken, by force if need be, to live with their father. 2/
@Channel4 Family courts make decisions about what is best for children. These are not child protection cases involving abuse or neglect, they are private battles between parents. But some cases can end up with kids being forcibly removed against their will, in distressing circumstances. 3
Read 9 tweets
17 May
Second Wave: Did the Government Get it Wrong?

Two thirds of UK Covid deaths happened since September. #Dispatches charts the rise of the second wave & examines the extent to which the Prime Minister decisions could be blamed for those tragic deaths.

Tonight, 10pm on @Channel4
@Channel4 Boris Johnson was advised in September by government scientific advisors to enforce a two week lockdown.

But the PM went on to seek advice from three outside scientists known to be lockdown sceptics. The most controversial of them has agreed to speak to us.
@Channel4 “That was disastrous. There’s no doubt that caused thousands of extra deaths.”

Despite being warned the new Kent variant of Covid was 70% more transmissible, Boris Johnson was insistent on not cancelling Christmas 2020. Did his delay in imposing a full lockdown cost lives?
Read 7 tweets
8 May
The Queen’s cousin, Prince Michael, appears willing to use his royal status to seek favours from Russian president Putin, & use a royal palace & his links to the Queen for personal profit - #Dispatches & The Sunday Times reveal. 1/

Royals For Hire Monday at 7.30pm on @Channel4
@Channel4 We set up a fake South Korean gold company, the House of Haedong, and asked Prince Michael to make a speech that trades off his royal status and gives the company royal support in order to impress its investors.
He said “the idea makes me very happy.” 2/
@Channel4 He said he was willing to accept $200,000 from our fake company in return for making the speech.
#RoyalForHire
3/
Read 10 tweets
22 Mar
Private equity firms are taking home billions of pounds as high streets die and thousands are unemployed.

#Dispatches studied the accounts of 10 well known brands including HMV, Cath Kidston, Debenhams, and Toys ‘R’ Us, that entered administration in the past three years. 1/
Nearly 29,000 jobs were lost, but we can reveal that across their broader investment portfolios, the private equity owners disclosed nearly a billion pounds of profit during the period of ownership. The 10 brands owed almost £50million in unpaid taxes when they collapsed. 2/
“Things stopped being replaced. They would break down. There was water coming through the ceiling.”

Former employees of Debenhams, bought in 2003 by a private equity consortium, told #Dispatches that after the takeover the business underinvested in the upkeep of its stores. 3/
Read 9 tweets
11 Oct 20
Now we’ve left the EU, the government is trying to do a trade deal with the US. @Dispatches can exclusively reveal dangerous levels of contamination in American meat that could soon be stocked in UK supermarkets. 1/
Between 12 & 14% of the pork & poultry samples tested have Salmonella, that’s about 6 times higher than levels in UK pork. According to preliminary results from Professor Lance Price who is in the middle of a 5year study looking at bacterial contamination in US retail meat. 2/
More than 60% of the pork products tested had E. coli on them, as did around 70% of beef products, 80% of chicken products, and more than 90% of turkey products. E. coli indicates faecal contamination. 3/
Read 10 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(