Fact-Checker Admits He ‘Screwed Up’ on COVID-19 Lab Leak Headline
Former Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler publicly acknowledged on Thursday that he was “completely wrong” to dismiss the COVID-19 lab leak theory as “doubtful” in a 2020 headline.
In a conversation with theeditors.com founder Ira Stoll, Kessler addressed growing skepticism toward mainstream fact-checkers—especially among conservatives—using his own 2020 piece as an example. That Washington Post fact check, titled “Was the new coronavirus accidentally released from a Wuhan lab? It’s doubtful,” became a flashpoint in debates over media bias and pandemic narratives.
Kessler admitted the article’s framing was his mistake, explaining that while the fact check focused primarily on debunking claims that the virus was a bioweapon, his addition of “it’s doubtful” in the headline went too far.
“One of the reporters on the piece came up to me the next day and said, ‘I think you made a real mistake by putting ‘it’s doubtful’ here. Because I’m uncertain where it stands, and you framed it in a way that made it seem more definitive than what we came up with,’” Kessler recalled. “That’s on me. I screwed up.”
He singled out co-author Sarah Cahlan, who challenged his decision at the time. “In my goodbye remarks [to her], I said this explains why you should always listen to Sarah—because she’s right, and I was completely wrong about this.”
Kessler emphasized that the intent of the piece was to address the bioweapon theory, not the broader question of whether the virus came from nature or a laboratory.
“It’s the headline. The piece itself…” Kessler began, before Stoll interjected, “People only remember the headline.”
“Like I said, that’s on me,” Kessler replied.
This admission comes as more public health officials, intelligence agencies, and scientists acknowledge that the lab leak theory remains a plausible explanation for the pandemic’s origins—contradicting the certainty with which many media outlets initially dismissed it.
