Did the novel coronavirus leak from a Wuhan lab? Chinese authorities quickly pointed to the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan as the source of the novel coronavirus. It had all the right components. Early cases had been connected to the market. It sold wild animals just like the market had where SARS first emerged. But as just fast as officials pointed to the market, rumors about an alternative origin emerged: Is it possible that the new coronavirus — which causes covid-19 — leaked from a lab? Viruses — like people — have distinct genetic sequences that give clues to their origins. And the balance of the scientific evidence strongly supports the conclusion that the new coronavirus emerged from nature — be it the Wuhan market or somewhere else. Too many unexpected coincidences would have had to take place for it to have escaped from a lab. But no scientist was willing to completely dismiss the lab escape idea — they only said that it was highly unlikely. After all, we neither know what either lab was specifically working on, nor do we have an archive of every animal in the lab and virus sequence in its freezer. Without identifying the earliest case and the evolution of the virus, everything is a hypothesis. The official Chinese response has done little to stop the theorizing. The government has not been willing or able to provide information that would clarify lingering questions about any possible role played by either Wuhan lab. Before the government had even alerted the World Health Organization to the growing epidemic, reports say scientists were told to destroy early samples of the virus. After two separate studies found the earliest cases in Wuhan did not — in fact — have links to the market, officials failed to provided sufficient evidence to prove otherwise, cleaning it before any other investigation could take place. That's why intelligence agencies are still exploring that possibility, no matter how remote it may be. And even then, it's unclear when or if we will ever know the origin story of this new virus that is causing death and economic turmoil around the globe. For the full fact check — and our mini-documentary on the topic — click here. Sign up for The Post's Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked within the newsletter are free to access. A search for the 'very fine people' at the 2017 Charlottesville rallyThe violence in Charlottesville in the summer of President Trump's first year in office continues to be a flash point in the presidential campaign, with former vice president Joe Biden making Trump's response to Charlottesville a central part of his argument that Trump is unfit to be president. The Fact Checker decided to investigate a key talking point by the president — that "very fine people" who "felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee" were among the protestors. We studied hours of video tape posted on Facebook and obtained videos that had been deleted by a militia group. Trump said there were people quietly protesting on Friday night but there were only neo-Nazis and white supremacists in the Friday night rally. As for Saturday, there were white supremacists, there were counterprotesters —and there were heavily armed anti-government militias. There's no suggestion in the videos the militias traveled to Charlottesville because of the Lee statue. "We had long guns. We had pistols. We were pelted with bricks, and could have f---ing used deadly force. But we didn't," one militia leader declares in a video obtained by The Fact Checker. "We had the justification to use deadly force that day and mow people f---ing down. But we didn't." The evidence shows there were no quiet protesters against removing the statue that weekend. The militias arrived in Charlottesville heavily armed and, by their own account, were prepared to use deadly force — because of a desire to insert themselves in a dangerous situation that, in effect, pitted them against the foes of white supremacists. Trump earned Four Pinocchios. For the full fact check — and our stunning video — click here. Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone else who'd like it! If this email was forwarded to you, sign up here. Did you hear something fact-checkable? Send it here; we'll check it out. All facts, no fluffWe wrote a book! "Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth" will be published June 2 by Scribner. Over 386 pages, we excavate and debunk all of the president's most egregious deceptions during his first three years in office, a period during which he made more than 18,000 false or misleading claims on everything from the economy, immigration, his campaign's contacts with Russia, dealings with Ukraine that led to his impeachment, Trump's response to the covid-19 pandemic and more. Kirkus gave the book a "starred" review, calling it "an extremely valuable chronicle." "Most valuable, in this rather depressing catalog of untruths, are the fact checkers' point-by-point analyses, lie by lie, of the relative falsehoods uttered, measured by 'Pinocchios,'" Kirkus says. You can pre-order a copy at online booksellers. We're always looking for fact-check suggestions. You can reach us via email, Twitter (@GlennKesslerWP, @rizzoTK, @mmkelly22, @SarahCahlan) or Facebook. Read about our process and rating scale here, and sign up for the newsletter here. Scroll down for this week's Pinocchio roundup. | 
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