- As the coronavirus pandemic has spread across the world, with millions infected and thousands dead, Microsoft billionaire co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has vowed to collect a quarter of a trillion dollars to fight the disease through his Foundation.
- Gates on Tuesday criticized social media giants for allowing the spread of misinformation about coronaviruses and conspiracy theories. “When you let people communicate, you have to deal with the fact that certain wrong things that are very exciting can spread very quickly compared to the truth,” Gates said in an interview with CNBC.
- “Social media can make that worse,” said Gates. “The degree to which these media companies can see what is being said on their platform, and take things that are absolutely wrong, and get rid of those things or slow them down, that’s very difficult.”
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Billionaire Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has advocated for pandemic preparedness for years, and gave a famous TED talk in 2015 that warned about the potentially deadly number of deaths a global pandemic could create.
As the coronavirus pandemic has spread worldwide, Gates has pledged $ 250 million to fight the disease and create a vaccine, and has become a leader in the global response to the pandemic.
Beyond dealing with the spread of the disease itself, another critical vector has emerged in the fight: disinformation and conspiracy theories.
And social media, Gates said in a new interview, is helping to spread the word.
“When you let people communicate, you have to deal with the fact that certain wrong things that are very exciting can spread very quickly compared to the truth,” Gates said in an interview with CNBC. “Social media can make it even worse.”
Look no further for evidence to support Gates’s claim that the viral spread of “Plandemic,” a documentary with dangerous misinformation about the coronavirus, including false claims that the vaccines are ineffective, and orders to stay home suppress the immune system. “Plandemic” had more than 8 million views when YouTube and Facebook removed it, and that damage is hard to undo.
“The degree to which these media companies can see what is being said on their platform, and take things that are absolutely wrong and get rid of those things or slow them down, is very difficult,” said Gates.
You can watch the full CNBC Squawk Box interview here:
