Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has denied conspiracy theories being circulated online accusing him of ‘inventing’ the coronavirus pandemic.
The Microsoft founder during a CNN Town Hall interview said;
It is a bad combination of pandemic and social media and people looking for a very simple explanation.
Doctored photos and fabricated news articles reportedly crafted by conspiracy theorists — shared thousands of times on social media platforms and messaging apps, in various languages — targeting Gates have gained traction online since the start of the pandemic.
Also, a video accusing Gates of wanting “to eliminate 15 percent of the population” through vaccination and electronic microchips has racked up millions of views on YouTube.
Referring to Gates foundation, the billionaire said; “Our foundation has given more money to buy vaccines to save lives than any group”.
He has pledged $250 million in efforts to fight the pandemic, and his foundation has spent billions of dollars improving health care in developing countries over the past 20 years.
Gates continued;
You say, ok, we are making money and we are trying to kill people with vaccines or by inventing something. And at least it is true, we are associated with vaccines, but you actually have sort of flipped the connection.
He added that he hopes the conspiracies does not generate “vaccine hesitancy”, saying “I’m a big believer in getting the truth out”.
Since the start of the crisis, AFP Fact Check has debunked dozens of anti-Gates rumors circulating on platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram in languages including English, French, Spanish, Polish and Czech.
There have also been a number of posts claiming that the FBI arrested Gates for biological terrorism or that he supports a Western plot to poison Africans.
It is not the first time Gates has found himself targeted by conspiracy theorists. When Zika virus broke out in 2015 in Brazil, he was one of several powerful Western figures blamed for the disease.
