#ExposeBillGates explodes on Twitter as conspiracy theorists vow to avoid Covid-19 vaccine connected to billionaire

Bill Gates’ omnipresence in the media during the Covid-19 pandemic has turned into a mass obsession with many, and conspiracy theorists got #ExposeBillGates trending on Twitter on a planned “day of action.”

The coronavirus pandemic created a number of speculations around the Microsoft Founder over his support of extended lockdown measures, his large contributions to the World Health Organization, and past comments on vaccines.  

“The public is finally waking up. I’ve never liked this guy and if you really listen to him talk and watch his interviews you’ll know he DOESN’T have our best interest in mind,” author Peter Vooogd tweeted on Saturday. It was one of the many tweets linked to the #ExposeBillGates hashtag, which itself stemmed from a planned “day of action” — announced by author Derrick Broze last month — to expose the billionaire. 

Other tweets included a video blasting Gates for his outspokenness on Covid-19 despite not being an elected official, as well as his support of extending lockdown measures across the world. Accusations of “population control” were also doled out based on Gates’ work providing vaccines to poorer countries through his foundation.

Others promised to never take any vaccine Gates has involvement with, including conservative author Michelle Malkin.

Some social media users, however, did not take the conspiracy theories seriously and instead used the hashtag to poke fun at Gates.

Though conspiracy theories about Gates are based more on conjecture than hard evidence, they have caught on with the public. Media analytics company Zignal Labs reported the conspiracy theory that Gates wants to implant tracking microchips into citizens under the guise of stopping Covid-19 was mentioned on social media more than a million times before May.

A Yahoo News/YouGov poll that showed around 20 percent of respondents believe Gates wants to track people’s personal information through microchips. For Republicans, that number in the poll shoots above 40 percent. 

Gates denied wanting to implant microchips in citizens and called the poll results “concerning,” though he did admit a mass “data system” keep track of people’s information was a good idea to prevent future pandemics. 

Gates’ standing in the world has only increased since the pandemic began, which likely feeds many of the conspiracy theorists untrusting of him. With the US backing out of support for the World Health Organization, he is set to become the group’s largest contributor, a fact that worries many as the Microsoft founder is a private citizen who could theoretically carry a lot of power during global situations.

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