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© Thomson Reuters 2021.'Crazy and evil': Bill Gates surprised by pandemic conspiracies
By Kate Kelland LONDON©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
56 Comments
PTownsend
'What is behind them' like any complex situation has to be looked at as a dynamic made up of many elements. One of these is scientific publications like The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Nature and others are considered by the conspiracy believing hordes to be written by ‘experts’ in the ‘establishment’, aka the ‘elites’. These ‘e’ groups are the ‘enemies’ (another ‘e’ in their glossary) of the conspiracy believers, many of whom trust what a Qanon shaman or some other wack posts on 8chan instead.
And it’s not just homegrown wacks. ‘Foreign’ governments have armies of keyboard warriors posting anti-science messages on social media in their attempts to further split and anger groups in the democracies they want to undermine.
The intellectually vulnerable and others at the margins of society lack the ability to understand what the ‘experts’ say. Instead they opt for some simple explanation like ‘it’s shape shifting alien reptiles’ hiding behind the curtains and pulling the strings. Many of these people probably believe the Marvel comics they read, believe that behind the scenes there’s a cabal of evil forces that’s holding them down. The global far right continue to convince them it’s the ‘e’ groups who are their ‘enemy’.
PTownsend
In the main that's probably true. But remember privileged class people with degrees from 'elite' universities like Trump, Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley have also pushed conspiracy theories.
Remember, too that among the domestic terrorists who followed Trump's directions to attack the capitol to help him steal the election were medical doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists, CEOs and others successful in business.
Lack of education probably is a contributor to believing in conspiracy theories, but anyone whose attended university has been around people who though well educated were totally wack.
PTownsend
correction above: who's attended
Mickelicious
Whenever I have to use a Windows PC I think Bill Gates is crazy and evil too.
Expect any nanowidgets in his vaccines to use Skype and crash often.
Bob Fosse
But you’re fine with presidents who aren’t politicians.
SuperLib
Um, Bill, it's not going away. Crazy is the new normal, especially with social media, and especially with a certain political party so desperate for votes they'll even vote one of the crazies into office.
SandyBeachHeaven
It is known as the Goebbles effect.
Jimizo
One problem with the very intelligent is many can’t relate to how stupid a lot of people are. Maybe it’s also partly due to the circles they move in. I’m intellectually closer to the stupid than him, and some of them are my friends, extended family members and acquaintances.
The conspiracy theories surrounding Covid were no surprise to me.
timeon
I think it is similar with people who join cults: they want to feel special, that they belong to a group of "enlighten" persons who know some whatever "truth", may it be a religious thing or some conspiracy theory. And this is also strongly fueled by all the Hollywood movies that have similar plots, Government conspiracies, alien invasions and so on
Jsapc
When said tech billionnaire has spent the last 20 years working with the best scientists and doctors in the world in order to organize and implement vast vaccination programs in many different countries, contributing to eradicating several deadly diseases, his opinion on pandemics does have much more clout than that of your friend who... is a nurse.
Antiquesaving
Why is the rise in conspiracy thuff surprising.
Let's face it, I gave up watching USA or most western countries TV and movies a long time ago.
Doesn't matter what is it about in the end the writers will at some point inject some deep conspiracy.
So feed the public a steady diet of conspiracies and eventually those with lower capacity of separating fact from fiction will start seeing them everywhere.
Add to that lower education in certain countries public schools and you get what we are seeing now.
serendipitous1
BB
Trump certainly wasn't a nurse but you listened to him about how Covid-19 is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, Bill Gates is actually very knowledgeable about diseases and pandemics. He hasn't worked full-time at Microsoft for about 15 years now so has had time to do his homework.
Antiquesaving
It is interesting to note that with regards to the USA, it is the states that are controlled by Conservatives that have the worse public education systems but all those incharge are the elite that attended private schools, and ivy league university.
Keeping the population dumb is how they retain power.
John Smith
Bill Gates and his wife gave a TV interview many years ago where they clearly stated that they have researched and found that the best place to invest their wealth and get the highest return is healthcare.
His "philanthropy" is set up to benefit his own foundation.
Watch these two videos and then make up your mind about the men and his goals:
Meet Bill Gates by James Corbett :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSvhPnUgyz8&ab_channel=corbettreport
Who is Bill Gates:
https://www.corbettreport.com/?s=bill+gates
His father was the head of Planned Parenthood.
He's been openly taking about reducing the world's population through birth control methods.
He gave $20M to MIT do develop a "quantum dot tattoo" that is used to inject vaccines and then leave an invisible tattoo on the skin that can be read by a modified smart phone to see the vaccination records of the person.
He gave founding to MIT to develop a birth control chip, that can be placed under the skin and release chemicals that prevent pregnancy..
Jsapc
No. Youtube videos are not news.
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-corbett-report/
Overall, we rate the Corbett Report a Tin Foil Hat conspiracy and Moderate pseudoscience website, based on the promotion of 9/11 conspiracies, False Flags, Chemtrails, and Deep State conspiracies.
Into the trash it goes.
Jimizo
Corbett is a firm favourite on here with our resident ‘free thinkers’. He pops up a lot.
Amazing how predictable it all is. I thought getting ‘free thinkers’ to coalesce would be like herding cats.
Lazarus Knows
I've seen many posts on JT that spread Bill Gates and vaccine misinformation, so it's more widely believed than even he might think.
Antiquesaving
If it was only that.
Take CSI, NCIS, Hawaii five O, Criminal minds, most started off as police drama and all ended up with some sort of deep state conspiracy, they just couldn't leave it alone and give us a simple police drama.
lincolnman
You're doing great things Bill - keep it up...
As for the kooks, its just all about the Benjamins - the far-right's attempt to demonize all media outlets other than their own - to get their viewers locked in so they can sell them premium memberships and books by every goofy talking head on the air. Then there's the entertainment factor - news as a form of reality television. Just look at Fox.
Conspiracy theories help them make sense of and displace their own failures - and are like water going down a drain - as one kooky conspiracy theory proves wrong, it just breeds another one even crazier to explain that - which then leads to another, and another...
Jsapc
I think that Bill Gates, and all similar victims of conspiracy theories, should do what Dominion Systems is doing and simply sue people spreading false information (for their own profit) for billions of dollars.
John Smith
@Jsapc
Perhaps you should check your "fact checking" sources.
The Columbia Journalism Review describes Media Bias/Fact Check as an amateur attempt at categorizing media bias and Van Zandt as an "armchair media analyst.
Alexandra Kitty, in a 2018 book on journalism, described MBFC as an apparent "amateur/civic outfit" and wrote that its founder's only qualification was a degree in communications
Corbett on the other hand links all his sources in his videos for you to 'fact check" yourself.
Bill Gates is a self-appointed "health care"expert with ZERO medical background or qualification.
Yet the man goes around the world telling everyone that "normalcy will only return after all 7 billion people have been vaccinated".
How much money has Gates invested in vaccines?
What will his return be on that investment?
Who is Bill Gates to give medical advice to anyone?
Jsapc
Perhaps you should stop watching youtube videos promoting conspiracy theories solely made to make their authors richer and spread disgusting far-right ideas.
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/James_Corbett
nandakandamanda
Just trying to get my head around this, without attacking anyone particularly.
Jealousy, envy, suspicion, paranoia and hatred, (which always existed in pockets) among the hollowed-out middle and so-called working classes must have come together and gelled into a blob. Cooked under societal, biased mass media and recent market forces? Opinions are dressed up as fact. FACT. The cold indifference of the educated wealthy above the glass ceiling must be easier to 'see' when described as reptilian or lizard-like.
Jsapc
I spent most of my life disliking Bill Gates when he was at microsoft, but it's hard to speak about his "indifference" when his whole life and most of his money is now dedicated to helping people in the poorest places on earth.
Raw Beer
Yeah, Corbett is not funded by Gates, so he provides a more honest view.
Gates has invested lots of money in "health", but he gets several fold back.
There are too many reasons not to trust him.
nandakandamanda
Yes, I see this, Jsap, " his whole life and most of his money is now dedicated to helping people in the poorest places on earth."
But perhaps that looks calculated to the people who feel no direct benefit to themselves, the disenfranchised in the USA for example. In other words, all of Bill's money will never buy love from them, even if it does qualify as the best humanitarian work, garnering approval from many quarters.
Lazarus Knows
I'm not funded by Bill Gates. So you can believe that I'm honest when I say: Corbett is a kook.
Kumagaijin
I enjoy watching Corbett's "Corbett Report" on occasion as he does more research into things than most main stream journalists do these days. He is also a Canadian living in Japan so we have something in common. However, he is an "anti-masker" as he opposes mask mandates, and other forms of government restrictions during this pandemic, yet he is clearly taking advantage of Japan's mask policies or mask wearing culture (although unenforced) and encouraging others to oppose restrictions (and yet he wouldn't dare to organize an anti-mask parade in Japan). While its clear that masks DO work, all Corbett is doing is prolonging the pandemic in other countries. Moreover, his videos tend to be critical of most things and he seldom offers any solutions to the things he critiques. As far as Bill Gates goes, Corbett is convinced Gates is evil despite all the good Gates has done around the world.
lincolnman
Well said - a very accurate description of the far-right bubble-sphere...
Inciting violence that resulted in five deaths - I guess the far-right doesn't see that as criminal...
He's an ex-President, if you haven't heard...
In other words, avoid 5G network towers and never leave home without tin foil lining the inside of your MAGA hat...
And watch out for Deep State Alien Lizards...
Jsapc
If you're searching for any kind of coherence in these type of self-proclaimed "journalists", don't. They will say absolutely anything to get clicks and get you to subscribe to their channel and you can be sure they themselves don't believe in even a third of what they're talking about. Like Alex Jones before him, Corbett is just another example of a conman cynically exploiting people he most definitely believes are completely stupid. You can be sure he will be first in line to get vaccinated for Covid while getting money claiming it kills people.
Jimizo
Had a feeling you’d like him. Is Soros involved too?
The Avenger
REPEAT AFTER ME:
Vaccines are safe.
Vaccines are "for your own good"
Corona vax is PERFECTLY BENIGN
Toasted Heretic
I trust him more than folks who admire Hitler's art, and dismiss holocaust deniers as "free thinkers".
Too many of these conspiracy theories have a nasty, anti-Semitic fan base.
Yeah, he's a billionaire - so of course there's going to be valid criticisms about obscene wealth, but the stuff we've seen bubble up to the surface over the last few years is plain crazy.
Toasted Heretic
Yes, you can.
The far right do it every single day, millions of users on hundreds of thousands of platforms, comments sections, radio shows, social media etc.
The can even get away with calling for their political opponents to be hung.
But still they whine and complain of victimhood when their dubious statements are challenged.
2020hindsights
John Smith
He also has zero computer science qualifications (he dropped out of Harvard to start Microsoft), yet he managed to found one of the largest computer companies in the world.
He and his foundation have been working in public health for years. His foundation has a mission to fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. He warned about the pandemic in a TED talk 5 years ago. I would say he is more than qualified.
Raw Beer
I bet all those who are absolutely sure Gates is a good guy and is truly concerned about people's health never bothered to look at Corbett's report.
He's on video somewhere talking about the impressive returns on his investments.
Lazarus Knows
I just don't think I understand what the right wants. Do you want strict government control of the media (in which case, conspiracy theories like those peddled by Corbett would be banned for the dangerous nonsense it is) or do you want a for-profit media with minimal government interference (in which case, social media is free to ban people who violate their TOS)?
Lazarus Knows
I agree that producing medicine for the purpose of making a profit is bad, when it should be produced for the sole purpose of saving lives.
The only way to accomplish this is to abolish capitalism.
Jsapc
I bet all those who are absolutely sure Corbett's videos have any objective informational value are just adults who desperately want to belive in fairy tales and make themselves appear superior by possessing some form of "hidden" knowledge.
Mickelicious
Sn*wflakes.
Antiquesaving
Yes now go find the real full version not the fired English teacher's edited version.
Note the "impressive return" is in lives saved not money.
Interesting how a little well placed edit can give a conspiracy promoter just what he wants.
Antiquesaving
Corbett is in Japan because he cannot get into the USA and his home country if Canada has the intelligence to bad hate speech and speech that directly attacks identifiable groups.
Not censorship but responsible governing.
Free speech is one thing but when you promote theories and ideas that attack people just for what they were born as, then that isn't freedom of speech it is freedom to spread hatred.
starpunk
Most of these conspiracy theories, like Obama not being born in the USA, came from the discredited Donald TraitorTrump, Qanon and other geeky whackjobs. Why believe these idiots now????
Of course our own network news has been spreading crap leading to China-bashing (excuses for CoVid) and other stupid things too.
Bob Fosse
Nope. But it gave me a hearty chuckle, thanks.
Bob Fosse
Im not sure about Gates, but I’m 100% certain Corbett is a complete loon and only other complete loons would give his ‘reports’ any validity at all.
virusrex
Well, that is the purpose, when you invest in public health and development you see a huge return in improvement of living conditions of the place you are investing it.
People that can only see the world according to their personal economic gains are the ones that think that the only returns you could see from investment have to be about money. Coincidentally those absolutely materialistic people are the same ones that think that every health worker in the world would see the health of their family for money.
You can also see the situation as people that choose saving lives as the way they make money, a chemist or a microbiologist could be making weapons for the same salary as making vaccines or drugs. Capitalism may be bad, but you cannot blindly assume that complete altruism would bring better results for medical development.