Topic: Drastic

The DRASTIC research team uncovered a 2018 proposal by Peter Daszak’s EcoHealth Alliance to insert human-specific furin cleavage sites into bat coronaviruses. This gain-of-function research involved the Wuhan Institute of Virology and researchers from the University of North Carolina. The proposal sought $14 million from DARPA to create chimeric viruses that could more easily enter human cells, providing a potential blueprint for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chinese state-run media accounts on Twitter are reportedly labeling the Wuhan lab leak theory as "black magic" and a conspiracy by "radical amateurs." The segment highlights the irony of Chinese propaganda being allowed on Twitter while American election audit accounts are banned. Peter Daszak is identified as a key figure in the gain-of-function research that allegedly led to the pandemic.