By Kate Kelland
LONDON (Reuters) - Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates says he has been taken aback by the volume of crazy and evil conspiracy theories about him spreading on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, but said on Wednesday he would like to explore what is behind them.
In an interview with Reuters, Gates said the millions of online posts and crazy conspiracy theories about him and about top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci had likely taken hold in part because of the combination of a frightening viral pandemic and the rise of social media. Nobody would have predicted that I and Dr. Fauci would be so prominent in these really evil theories, Gates said.
I m very surprised by that [and] I hope it goes away, he added. It s almost hard to deny this stuff because it s so stupid or strange that even to repeat it gives it credibility, Gates said in June.
Since the pandemic began to spread a year ago, Gates has been outspoken about the steps that global leaders should take to combat the coronavirus. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has also pledged at least $1.75 billion overall to the global pandemic response effort, including supporting the development of vaccines and treatments.
Gates also frequently criticized the U.S. response to the pandemic under former President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Fauci sometimes received criticism from Trump while serving as the former president s advisor, including after contradicting false claims Trump made about the severity of the pandemic.
By Syndicated Content
By Kate Kelland
LONDON (Reuters) - Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates says he has been taken aback by the volume of crazy and evil conspiracy theories about him spreading on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, but said on Wednesday he would like to explore what is behind them.
In an interview with Reuters, Gates said the millions of online posts and crazy conspiracy theories about him and about top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci had likely taken hold in part because of the combination of a frightening viral pandemic and the rise of social media.
PHOTO: Mike Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Ti
Bill
Gates says he is very surprised by the really evil
theories swirling around the pandemic about him and Dr Anthony Fauci.
Gates
says conspiracy theories have likely spread because of the combination of a
frightening viral pandemic and the rise of social media.
Since
the pandemic began a year ago, conspiracies have spread over the internet,
fuelling misinformation about the coronavirus.
LONDON
– Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates says he has been taken
aback by the volume of crazy and evil conspiracy
theories about him spreading on social media during the Covid-19 pandemic, but
January 27, 2021
January 27, 2021
Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates said on Wednesday that he has been taken aback by the volume of “crazy” and “evil” conspiracy theories about him spreading on social media on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gates in an interview with Reuters said the millions of online posts about him and top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci were “crazy conspiracy theories.”
He explained that the conspiracy theories had likely taken hold in part because of the combination of a frightening viral pandemic and the rise of social media.
“Nobody would have predicted that I and Fauci would be so prominent in these really evil theories.