Slack Messages Reveal COVID-19 Origin Paper Authors Had Private Doubts About Lab-Leak Theory

Internal Slack communications released by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Tuesday reveal that authors of a prominent Nature Medicine paper on COVID-19 origins privately expressed uncertainty about their published conclusions. The messages among Kristian Andersen, Robert Garry, Eddie Holmes and Andrew Rambaut—who authored “The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2″—suggest significant doubts about whether the virus originated naturally from bats, contradicting their paper’s public stance.

Paul criticized the discrepancy during a Fox News appearance, stating the authors’ conduct represented a troubling pattern of deception. “The idea that it came from a lab is implausible, and yet privately they’re saying the opposite,” Paul said, adding that federal funding should not support researchers who misled the public. The paper, published in March 2020, became a key reference point for officials and media outlets seeking scientific validation that laboratory origins were unlikely.

Private probability assessments by the authors contradicted their paper’s firm conclusions. Andersen assigned a 30 percent likelihood to laboratory origin while Holmes estimated 20 percent, later revising it downward to 10 percent. In a June 11, 2020 message, Andersen acknowledged lacking hard evidence and stated the team could not exclude the possibility of intentional introduction, despite the paper’s strong public dismissal of such scenarios.

The researchers also debated the furin cleavage site, a genetic marker central to lab-leak theories. Internal discussions referenced “smoking guns” that undermined Andersen’s confidence in their conclusions. Additionally, the messages documented coordination with U.S. intelligence officials and National Institutes of Health leadership as authors publicly defended their findings.

Tensions emerged regarding coronavirus researcher Ralph Baric, whom the authors suspected of leaking confidential peer-review information to journalists. The authors labeled this suspected leaker “Deep Throat” and expressed concerns that Baric had attempted professional sabotage. The World Health Organization subsequently concluded the pandemic resulted from zoonotic spillover, either directly from bats or through intermediate hosts.

Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, previously released documents showing federal agents were preparing to question zoologist Peter Daszak upon his return from WHO investigations before the FBI intervened. Dr. Anthony Fauci is scheduled to testify before the committee this month following a subpoena issued by Paul regarding pandemic origins.