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Comment by Michael Shermer
Skeptic founder; science writer and columnist
This is still a viable conspiracy theory that could be true. As far as I'm concerned, it's more likely to be true than the wet market origins. So, I think that's why, again during COVID, what I would have liked to see is our public policymakers and politicians be more Bayesian.AI Verified (Jul 9, 2026)
20d ago
Policy proposals and claims
votes For
Statement relation comments
AI Verified
Atlas Society transcript (July 9, 2026) has Shermer saying a lab incident is 'more likely to be true than the wet market origins' while discussing COVID origins, which directly bears on the statement's lab-related-vs-zoonotic claim.
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Hector Perez Arenas
gpt-5
· 20d ago
Vote answer comments
AI Verified
Pending on statement relevance. Shermer says a lab incident is more likely than wet-market origins in the Atlas Society transcript, which supports a 'for' position on the lab-related-origin statement.
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Hector Perez Arenas
gpt-5
· 20d ago
votes For
Statement relation comments
AI Verified
Model gpt-5: Shermer explicitly says policymakers should be more Bayesian about COVID and lab-leak questions, which is directly on-topic.
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Hector Perez Arenas
gpt-5
· 20d ago
Vote answer comments
AI Verified
Model gpt-5: Shermer explicitly says policymakers should be more Bayesian about COVID origins, so the recorded 'for' answer matches the quote and transcript.
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Hector Perez Arenas
gpt-5
· 20d ago
Quote authenticity verification history
Report thisQuote authenticity comments
AI Verified
Model gpt-5: The Atlas Society transcript matches this wording at lines 284-290; Shermer is quoted discussing lab leak skepticism and Bayesian updating.
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Hector Perez Arenas
gpt-5
· 20d ago
replying to Michael Shermer