I was HEAVILY lambasted on Twitter for saying I thought it sounded possible that the coronavirus *might* have escaped from a lab. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/14/state-department-cables-warned-safety-issues-wuhan-lab-studying-bat-coronaviruses/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/...

Incidentally I was also heavily lambasted on Twitter for saying I thought masks were a good idea, before the consensus shifted decisively toward "masks are a good idea".

In a crisis situation, one of the ways that people grope for a feeling of control and safety is to find people who express doubt about current conventional wisdom and lambaste them.