What I don't get is why did almost everyone in government and media try so hard to prove it wasn't a lab leak? Wouldn't it serve their hegemonic goals to have Americans think the evil CCP is making bioweapons and simultaneously organizationally incompetent because communism?

While I acknowledge I am not smart enough to have an informed opinion on this subject, I've read stuff on both sides of the argument that make sense to me. The overwhelming effort to shout down anyone saying it was a lab leak makes me skeptical of the natural origin narrative.