Editor's note: Bradley Blankenship is a Prague-based American journalist, political analyst and freelance reporter. He's also been featured on Press TV, Russia Today and Radio Sputnik. The article reflects the author's opinions, not necessarily the views of CGTN.

In an exclusive story published on the night of April 15, Fox News claimed to have bombshell statements from unnamed officials suggesting that SARS-CoV2 originated in a Wuhan laboratory in order to "demonstrate that its efforts to identify and combat viruses are equal to or greater than the capabilities of the United States."

Exactly what China would stand to gain from actively pushing a novel zoonotic disease into the world is unclear, and no attempt at clarity in this narrative is put forward by Fox News, but what is clear is that they are working together with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to push a dangerous conspiracy theory that originated from actors on the right.

According to their latest story, the virus began in nature but was brought to a lab in Wuhan where it was then transmitted to a worker. This person then entered the population of Wuhan, infecting the city and subsequently starting a global pandemic.

So-called documents used in Fox News' claim suggest that the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market theory of the disease's origin was actually produced by the Chinese government to deflect from the "truth" – that SARS-CoV2 escaped from a lab.

Fox's sources cautioned that the claims are "not definitive and should not be characterized as such," providing a convenient walk-back from the sensational headline.

But this story, quoting anonymous if not fictitious sources, is the culmination of vitriolic and false language coming from the far-right that has now turned mainstream thanks to Fox News and Trump. Language matters as it compounds prejudice and leads to real life consequences.

From the onset, far-right actors began circulating fringe theories about SARS-CoV2 being a Chinese bioweapon. By late January, actors including the conservative-leaning British Daily Mail, former Breitbart News executive Steve Bannon, the Washington Times, and others gave wind to the story.

On January 29, a far-right site called ZeroHedge was banned from Twitter after doxxing a Chinese scientist in Wuhan and falsely alleging that they created SARS-CoV2.

Things turned quickly when Fox News followed suit on February 10. Prime-time anchor Tucker Carlson, though swearing that he wasn't endorsing any theory, asked guest Dr. Janette Nesheiwat if "it (SARS-CoV2) was somehow created by the Chinese government." She immediately dismissed this idea, as any serious medical professional would.

When asked about these set of claims by Fox News, Trump officials have given shaky replies that do not substantiate them, but seem to leave them ambiguous and inevitably give them wind:

"It should be no surprise to you that we have taken a keen interest in that (the conspiracy) and we've had a lot of intelligence take a hard look at that. I would just say at this point, it's inconclusive, although the weight of evidence seems to indicate natural, but we don't know for certain," General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was quoted by Fox News as saying about the reports.

"We know there is the Wuhan Institute of Virology just a handful of miles away from where the wet market was. There are still lots to learn. You should know that the United States government is working diligently to figure it out," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on an appearance with "The Story".

"More and more we're hearing the story... we are doing a very thorough examination of this horrible situation," Trump himself was quoted by Fox News White House correspondent John Roberts as saying when asked about these reports.

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper also gave his own comments to Fox News, neither confirming nor denying the theory but keeping it open.

This refusal to disavow false and harmful theories, originating from the far-right and amplified by Fox News, by top U.S. officials is sending signals to the public. A new Pew poll from April 8 found that 29 percent of Americans believe that SARS-CoV2 was made in a lab – 23 percent saying it was intentional and six percent saying accidental.

What began as a fringe theory has now become mainstream in the typical Trump-Fox, one-two combo of narrative building, despite health experts very obviously dismissing this theory for what it is – fake news.

The far-right with Trump as its crusader has tapped into an inherent lack of trust in government and institutions, instead weaponizing it by pushing the idea that the plight experienced by Americans right now due to their government's failure to act was caused by China.

Fox News may not have created this theory, but they have taken the helm now and used their clout with the Trump administration to get quotes from officials while the administration, in turn, scores political points and "earned" media.

However, it doesn't take too much of a conspiratorial leap to realize that the administration's ambiguous statements that dangerously stoke American frustration are being platformed by Fox News, and seemingly them alone, with no pushback or line of questioning. 

So, will anyone finally take credit for these claims? Will these anonymous officials step forward? Or are we to assume that so-called intelligence experts are actually just 4chan posters and Neo-Nazi forums? We're all waiting to see the work on this.

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