The mild-mannered German scientist never anticipated becoming a Chinese propaganda star.

But Alexander Kekul¨¦, director of the Institute for Biosecurity Research in Halle, Germany, has been all over the state-run media in China in recent days. News outlets have taken Kekul¨¦¡¯s research out of context to suggest that Italy, not China, is where the coronavirus pandemic began. Photos of him have appeared on Chinese news sites under headlines reading, ¡°China is innocent!¡±

Kekul¨¦, who has repeatedly said that he believes the virus first emerged in China, was startled.