Documentary at Cork Film Festival highlights 'dangerous infodemic' around origins of covid

A panel discussion after the screening at the Triskel looked at the relationships between science, politicians and media during and since the pandemic

Professor Zhengli Shi, head of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. She is seen in the documentary defending her work and quality standards: 'Biosafety in our lab in Wuhan is no different than anywhere else in the world.'

A documentary on the origins of covid-19 and claims of a “dangerous infodemic” around the pandemic has been shown at the Cork International Film Festival.

More than five years since the first cases of covid-19 were reported, the debate on its origins continues. The documentary Blame delves into studies linking it to racoon dogs sold at a market in Wuhan, China, as well as controversial claims around leaks from a Wuhan laboratory.

However, much of the focus is on what director Christian Frei calls “a dangerous infodemic”. He links this to social media and political concerns in America and China. 

The personal impact of these controversies on three scientists linked directly or indirectly to that laboratory, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, form the rest of the tale.

Mr Frei said in the documentary: “Bats are the world’s most misunderstood mammals and so are scientists.” 

It highlights comments by President Donald Trump and people such as Steve Bannon focusing on the theory the virus leaked from this Wuhan laboratory.

A scene from the documentary 'Blame'.

Interviews with Professor Zhengli Shi, Peter Daszak, and Professor Linfa Wang are mainly in person. However, Professor Shi’s thoughts are shared through video-conference as she says she was waiting for permission to join them in Hong Kong for filming.

She was head of the Wuhan laboratory at the time. It received funding from America for a set of studies. This was given through EcoHealth Alliance — where Mr Daszak was president — in a grant supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Mr Daszak is filmed describing how "in April 2020, a press conference in the White House turned my life and the life of my family upside down". 

The grant was cancelled soon after. This was despite the NIH saying viruses studied were “genetically far distant from SARS-CoV-2 and could not have possibly caused the covid-19 pandemic”.

In January 2025, the US health department cut EcoHealth Alliance’s funding. It said the grant was used for "gain of function research", meaning genetically altering an organism. Mr Daszak is filmed saying they did not do gain of function studies.

Prof. Shi also defends her work and quality standards. “Biosafety in our lab in Wuhan is no different than anywhere else in the world,” she said.

The complexities become more obvious when Chinese science journalist Jane Qiu joins them for filming in Thailand. She often writes in English-language publications including Nature, Science and The Lancet.

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At one point she becomes visibly frustrated and says: “I feel like I’m participating in propaganda.” 

More recently she wrote in the Guardian about the covid origins debate and Blame saying: “At its core, the controversy is not a left-right issue, but a symptom of deeply entrenched public distrust of science.

“By framing it along the political divide — and by cherrypicking extreme examples to suit its narrative, the documentary does a disservice to the public interest.” 

A panel discussion after the screening at the Triskel Cinema looked at the relationships between science, politicians and media during and since the pandemic.