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Not even the world's second fortune is safe from the also second most repeated word these days: hoaxes (after de-escalation). Bill Gates (64) is being the center of conspiracy theories that claim it is related to the creation and expansion of the coronavirus.
In recent weeks, a video of a conference that Gates gave in 2015 has reappeared, where he claimed that the greatest risk to humanity was not nuclear war but the appearance of a highly infectious virus that could end the lives of millions of people. The views of this video increased to over 27 million views. The recovery of these images led to speculation linking the Microsoft magnate to Covid-19. But this was only the beginning.
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An analysis by The New York Times notes that Bill Gates has become a massive target of conspiracy theories emerging online. Specifically, it is related to Covid-19 on three fronts: creator of the virus, beneficiary of the vaccine to eradicate it and vigilant of the world population through virus control. A study by media analytics company Zignal Labs found that social media posts, which falsely claimed that Microsoft's founder designed the virus, had exploded since earlier this year. The Times detailed that more than 16,000 Facebook posts on Gates and the Covid-19 were found in this study and that this issue had generated around 900,000 likes and comments. Additionally, the 10 most popular YouTube videos in March and April, spreading misinformation about Gates, had attracted five million views.
The newspaper tracked when Gates was first mentioned relating to the virus and came across the tweet in late January from a follower of QAnon, a stream of Trump supporters fighting against traitors of the "deep state."
The aforementioned mention claimed that Gates was aware of the pandemic beforehand, pointing out a vaccine patent filed by a British group called the Pirbright Institute that had received funds from The Gates Foundation . This information was collected two days later by Infowars, far-right American conspiracy theory and fake news website.
In late January, the Full Fact data verification portal denied rumors circulating on social media that the Pirbright Institute had applied for a patent related to Covid-19. The vaccine was linked to a different coronavirus that affects birds.
The rise of conspiracy theories blaming Gates for the coronavirus finds its loudspeaker in far-right figures and profiles of anti-vaccine people. For example, Roger Stone, a former Trump adviser sentenced to 40 months in prison for crimes related to the president's campaign in 2016, who stated that if there is a possibility that Gates played any important role in creating the virus, it should be opened. a debate.
Bill Gates has never shown sympathy for Trump, once laughingly said that the president did not know very well what the difference was between HIV and HPV, the human papilloma virus. In one of his last interventions, he assured that he did not agree with Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the funds destined for the World Health Organization.
Another person who fueled theories against Gates was Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of former Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who campaigns against vaccines as director of the Children's Health Defense Network. On his Instagram account, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Gates is in favor of vaccines to fuel his other business interests. On April 14, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. published a cartoon of a smiling Mr. Gates with a syringe and a caption: "Your body, my choice."
GATES FOUNDATION
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is named after its founder and his wife. It is the largest private charitable foundation in the world and in May 2006 it was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation. Gates has channeled his philanthropic work through this entity that works to distribute vaccines in developing countries, advocates for family planning through increased use of contraceptives, and has funded the development of genetically modified crops. These initiatives have sparked unsubstantiated allegations that Gates was dispensing unnecessary medicine and harmful crops to the world's poor.
In January, when the spread of the coronavirus began, the foundation donated $ 10 million (just over nine million euros) to help healthcare workers in China and Africa. In April, Gates intervened on The Daily Show and said his foundation would fund labs for the seven most promising possible vaccines. A week ago, he raised his donation to combat the spread of the disease to $ 250 million (about 230 million euros).
However, despite their efforts and in parallel, the hoaxes over Gates spread more than the virus itself. The latest information indicates that his foundation, the WHO and the Wuhan Institute of Virology have suffered an alleged hack in which emails and passwords have been leaked, in order to use them to spread false information by posing as workers of these entities. .
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