Microsoft Founder Bill Gates Has Become Top Target Of Coronavirus Conspiracies

KEY POINTS

Media analysis firm Zignal Labs found that Microsoft founder Bill Gates has become the most prominent target of coronavirus conspiracy theories since the outbreak began
Most of these theories have been promoted by several prominent conservative personalities and various right-wing conspiracy groups online and on TV
Gates has been among the most vocal critics of President Trump's handling of the coronavirus outbreak

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has become the top target of coronavirus conspiracy theories that have emerged online, Zignal Labs, which has been tracking misinformation onthe COVID-19 pandemic, reported Friday.

Zignal Labs told the New York Times it found more than 16,000 Facebook posts containing false information about Gates and coronavirus since the start of 2020. Those posts have reportedly been shared, liked and commented on more than 900,000 times.

The 10 most popular videos on YouTube in March and April spreading false information on Gates and COVID-19 have been viewed around 5 million times.

“Bill Gates is easily transformed into a health-related meme and figure because he’s so well known,” Syracuse University digital ethics teacher Whitney Phillips told the New York Times. “He’s able to function as kind of an abstract boogeyman.”

Gates has been among the more vocal critics of President Trump’s handling of the outbreak, recently calling his decision to halt funding the World Health Organization “dangerous.”

Halting funding for the World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds. Their work is slowing the spread of COVID-19 and if that work is stopped no other organization can replace them. The world needs @WHO now more than ever.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) April 15, 2020

One of the first conspiracy theories to emerge was on Jan. 21 when online personalities allegedly linked to the conspiracy group, QAnon, said on Twitter Gates had foreknowledge of the outbreak. This theory, and others like it, point to a speech by Gates from the 2015 TED Conference where he said the biggest threat to humanity was a viral outbreak.

“If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it's most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war. Not missiles, but microbes,” Gates said. “Now, part of the reason for this is that we've invested a huge amount in nuclear deterrents. But we've actually invested very little in a system to stop an epidemic. We're not ready for the next epidemic.”

These conspiracy theories have taken on life thanks to prominent conservative personalities promoting them online and on TV.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham shared one such conspiracy on online and on her show that Gates had darker motives after he suggested tracking anyone who received a COVID-19 vaccination. Disgraced Trump staff member Roger Stone also suggested to the New York Post that Gates had a part in the “creation and spread” of COVID-19.