Do recent attempts to politicize and delegitimzie valid scientific hypothesis, such the Lab Leak Hypothesis, reflect a growing culture that is hostile to science and the free exchange of ideas? I have personally seen the effects in my own university. A biologist where I go to school has publicly expressed support for the Lab Leak hypothesis, and it created a shit storm on Twitter.

These sorts of events really suggest to me that popular culture, the mainstream media, and public official are beginning to police what is and isn't a valid scientific hypothesis. Unfortunately, this is directly contrary to the very nature of empirical science and the scientific method. If certain hypothesis are a priori labeled as "conspiracies" and are beyond the scope of acceptable academic discourse, then what you are doing is no longer science. I will also add, that a recent article published in the Lancet, one of the top medical Journals in the world, has expressed similar concerns about the use of polarizing labels like "conspiracy theory".

Also disclaimer, before I trigger the thought police: the NIH states that it funded research to enhance the infectious capabilities of the coronavirus, but NIH officials did not explicitly use the phrase "gain of function" - presumably, in order to protect Fauci from charges of perjury. This is basically an empirically meaningless semantic distinction, however.