原标题：真相放大镜 | 特朗普与其媒体盟友如何推动中国阴谋论？
美国目前有超过5万人死于新冠肺炎，特朗普总统与其盟友们正把反华舆论战推向一个新高度。他们试图坐实阴谋论，与当年小布什政府散播“伊拉克有大规模杀伤性武器”的过程如出一辙。套路还是老套路，让我们来复习一下。
Over 50，000 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S。 and the momentum is not letting down。
在美国已有超过5万人死于新冠肺炎，而且疫情发展的势头并没有减弱的迹象。
This comes as President Trump and his allies are elevating their anti-China rhetoric to a new level。
与此同时，特朗普总统及其盟友正借机助推反华言论愈演愈烈。
Their newest tactic： legitimize a conspiracy theory and blame a Chinese lab for “creating” the deadly virus。
他们的最新策略是做实阴谋论，指责中国病毒研究所“制造”了这种致命病毒。
But exactly how are they trying to spin the narrative？ I‘ll walk you through it。
但他们究竟是如何编造这些故事的呢？让我来告诉你
I‘m Serena， welcome to Facts Tell。
我是董雪，欢迎收看真相放大镜。
Step One： Gather Unreliable Sources
第一步：收集毫无依据的情报
In late January， right-wing Washington Times labeled the Wuhan Institute of Virology as the “villain” behind the pandemic。 It speculated that the virus was “manufactured” at the biolab and somehow “leaked” out。
一月下旬，右翼媒体《华盛顿时报》称武汉病毒研究所为疫情背后的罪魁祸首，推测新冠病毒是在该病毒研究所“制造”而成并以某种方式“泄漏”出去的。
The article sourced an Israeli military intelligence officer and Radio Free Asia， which is known to be a “worldwide propaganda network built by the CIA。”
这篇文章的消息来源是一名以色列军事情报官员和自由亚洲电台，尤其后者更是众所周知的“美国中央情报局建立的全球宣传网络”。
The theory was quickly rejected by scientists。
这个理论很快就被科学家们否定了。
This is what they say on the magazine Nature：
这是科学家们在《自然》杂志上的表述：
“Our analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory construct or a purposefully manipulated virus。”
“我们的分析清楚地表明SARS-CoV-2不是一种由实验室构造或有目的性操纵的病毒。”
You would think scientific research would be enough to silence conspiracy theorists in Washington。
也许大家认为明确的科学研究结论足以让华盛顿的阴谋论者闭嘴。
However， with the death toll continuously increasing in the U.S。， Trump and his allies are left scrambling for more theories to float。
然而，随着美国（新冠肺炎）死亡人数不断增加，特朗普和他的盟友们却在努力找寻更多的阴谋论素材。
Step Two： Neglect Evidence
第二步：无中生有
On April 14， Washington Post had this column：
4月14日《华盛顿邮报》有这样一篇专栏：
“State Department cables warn of safety issues at Wuhan lab studying coronaviruses”
“（美国）国务院电报警告武汉病毒研究所存在安全隐患”
Its author Josh Rogin cited a 2018 cable from the U.S。 Embassy in Beijing that he said he had just “obtained” innocently。
该文章作者乔希·罗金援引了2018年美国驻京大使馆的一份电报，并称自己是无意中获得了这份电报。
The cable warned that the Wuhan lab‘s work on bat coronaviruses and its potential human transmission represented a risk of a new SARS-like pandemic。
电报警告说武汉病毒研究所对蝙蝠冠状病毒的研究，及其潜在的人-人传播预示了一种新的类似非典大流行的疫情风险。
When pressed by scientists to publish the rest of the cable， Rogin refused。
但当科学家们要求罗金公布电报全部内容时却遭到了拒绝。
The next day， Bret Baier of Fox News published a similar article， stating “there is increasing confidence that the Covid-19 outbreak likely originated in a Wuhan laboratory。”
第二天，福克斯新闻的布雷特·贝尔立即发表了一篇类似的文章，称有越来越多的证据表明新冠病毒可能起源于武汉的一家病毒研究所。
But again， he offered no concrete evidence， and relied on unspecified documents from “U.S。 sources，” which he did not personally view。
但他依旧没有提供具体证据，而只是声称援引于一份来自美国的情报消息，他本人甚至也并没有看到这份情报。
Step Three： Bring it to the Masses
第三步： 大肆渲染
As the theatrics continued， Republican Senator Tom Cotton praised Baier on Fox and blamed China。
随着剧情继续升级，共和党参议员汤姆·科顿在福克斯上赞扬贝尔的言论并指责中国导致了。。。
“every single death， every job lost， every retirement nest egg lost”。。。
“每一例死亡，每一份失业，每一次退休储蓄的损失……”
Three days later， U.S。 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo followed suit and brought the baseless theory to a wider audience。
三天后，美国国务卿迈克·蓬佩奥紧随其后将这一毫无根据的理论进一步宣扬。
This is what he had to say：
他是这样说的：
“We are still asking the Chinese Communist Party to allow experts to get into that virology lab so that we can determine precisely where this virus began。”
“我们还在请求中共允许专家进入那个病毒实验室，以便我们能够确定这种病毒的起源。”
That same day， President Trump， stepped in and said +CLIP “it seems to make sense。”
当天特朗普总统也介入并表示“这似乎是有道理的”。
All of these remind me of an old saying：
所有这些让我想起了一句老话：
“Don‘t let the facts get in the way of a good story。”
“不要让事实妨碍好故事。”
It seems to be the mantra for the Trump administration these days。
这似乎成为了特朗普政府近日来的行动指南。
The clock is ticking for Trump with only six months left to lock in a reelection and stave off an economic depression。
对特朗普总统来说，时间很紧迫。他只剩下六个月来力保连任，并避免经济萧条
It seems clinging to fringe conspiracy theories against China is his safest strategy。
似乎坚持针对中国的边缘阴谋论是他最安全的策略。
It does rings a bell though。
不过这确实也让我想起了些似曾相识的事件。
Remember， when the US was looking for excuses for the invasion of Iraq， it started with a now notorious New York Times report， that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction。
还记得当初美国为入侵伊拉克寻找借口时，就是从现在臭名昭著的《纽约时报》的一篇报道开始的，该报道称伊拉克拥有大规模杀伤性武器。
So， this might just be history repeating itself。
所以，可能这又是一次故技重施。
Only this time， the target is China。
只不过 这次的目标换成了中国。
央视
