Bill Gates invests in vaccines to immunise, not get rid of people, as conspiracies go
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Thursday pushed back against a few of the conspiracy theories spreading online accusing him of fabricating the coronavirus outbreak.
“It’s a bad combo of pandemic and social media and persons looking for a very easy explanation,” the Microsoft founder explained throughout a CNN Town Hall interview.
Doctored photographs and fabricated news articles crafted by conspiracy theorists-shared thousands of times about social media systems and messaging apps, in a variety of languages-targeting Gates have attained traction online because the start of pandemic.
A good video accusing Gates of seeking “to eradicate 15 percent of the populace” through vaccination and electronic microchips has racked up an incredible number of views on YouTube.
“Our foundation has presented additional money to buy vaccines to save lots of lives than any group,” Gates said, discussing his eponymous foundation.
He has pledged $250 million found in efforts to fight the pandemic, and his foundation has spent billions of dollars improving healthcare in developing countries in the last 20 years.
“So you just turn that around. You claim, ok, we’re earning money and we’re trying to kill persons with vaccines or by inventing something,” Gates continuing.
“And at least it’s true we’re associated with vaccines, but you already have sort of flipped the bond,” he said, adding he hopes the conspiracies don’t generate “vaccine hesitancy.”
Since the start of crisis, AFP Fact Check has debunked dozens of anti-Gates rumors circulating on systems like Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram in languages including English, French, Spanish, Polish and Czech.
A number of accusations, including posts claiming that the FBI arrested Gates for biological terrorism or that he supports a Western plot to poison Africans, share a common thread.
They accuse the tycoon of exploiting the crisis, whether it is to “control people” or earn a living from selling vaccines.
“I’m a major believer in obtaining the truth out,” Gates told CNN.
It is not the 1st time Gates has found himself targeted by conspiracy theorists. When Zika virus broke out in 2015 in Brazil, he was one of the powerful Western figures blamed for the condition.
Other rumors claim he is secretly a lizard, an old favorite among online trolls.
