It's interesting to think about the interference between the politics and the science of looking too deeply at this last year. Essentially, the Trump administration came out strongly for the lab theory early on and linked it to their "China virus" narrative.
This was a rhetorical bludgeon (like so much from that administration) to avoid dealing with the problem, with the likely added effect of fomenting reprisals towards Asians. So the science and media had to (or chose to) avoid the issue for fear of the baggage entailed.
Now it's becoming safe to question scientists again without looking like you're on the side of the crazies. So we are elevating these voices now. There are many things to take away from this, but institutional rot and bad incentives from the top start shading everybody's actions.
This was a rhetorical bludgeon (like so much from that administration) to avoid dealing with the problem, with the likely added effect of fomenting reprisals towards Asians. So the science and media had to (or chose to) avoid the issue for fear of the baggage entailed.
Now it's becoming safe to question scientists again without looking like you're on the side of the crazies. So we are elevating these voices now. There are many things to take away from this, but institutional rot and bad incentives from the top start shading everybody's actions.