By: Ishita Goel J
August 31 2023
The billionaire has made no such statement. The claim is based on an article by a website that regularly disseminates misinformation.
What is the claim?
A narrative about Bill Gates is viral on social media, claiming that the billionaire announced that "people who resist 'mRNA tsunami' will be excluded from society" and that "a tsunami of mRNA is coming- whether you like it or not." Several posts on X (formerly Twitter) with this claim carry an image of the Microsoft co-founder. A few other posts include a screenshot of an article by the website The People's Voice, formerly known as NewsPunch and YourNewsWire. Published on August 27, the headline of the article read, "Bill Gates: People Who Resist 'mRNA Tsunami' Will Be Excluded From Society." Few links to archived posts can be accessed here, here, and here.
The narrative is viral on other platforms as well (Source: X/Facebook/TikTok/Altereted by Logically Facts)
The article further claims that Gates and 'global elites' are replacing all medicines with experimental mRNA vaccines and that everyone will be forced to take hundreds of mRNA jabs every year if they wish to participate in society.
However, Gates has not said such a thing, and the article is based on several inaccurate claims.
What are the facts?
The People's Voice, whose claims have been debunked by Logically Facts on several occasions, relies on a purported screenshot of an X post by Gates to claim that the billionaire made the alleged statements on mRNA vaccines. However, we came across no such statement on Gates' X account.
Further, no credible news outlets have reported on Gates ever making such statements.
Logically Facts has contacted Gates for clarification, and this fact-check will be updated if and when we receive a response.
Where did this statement come from?
While the headline of the article attributes the statement to Gates, the latter part of the story mentions Melissa Moore as the source of the statements in question.
During our research, we found that the phrase in question, 'tsunami of mRNA medicines,' was used by RNA researcher Melissa J. Moore, Chief Scientific Officer at pharmaceutical giant Moderna, in May 2022, while talking about how mRNA was used in developing vaccines for COVID-19 and other diseases.
Moore was delivering a TED Talk on 'How mRNA Medicine Will Change the World.' The video published by TED on YouTube stated that Moore talks about how RNA "helps our bodies' proteins maintain health, prevent disease and correct errors in our genetic code" by explaining the molecular level of mRNA. Moore provided an example of a number of clinical trials that were going on using mRNA-based medicines. Then she added, 'So there is a coming tsunami of mRNA medicines.' After this, she gave examples of mRNA being used in clinical trials, which showed successful results in patients during open heart surgery and to treat metabolic disease.
Screenshot of the video of Melissa J. Moore speaking at a TED event. (Source: YouTube/Alterted by Logically Facts)
Moore did not state that if a person is not vaccinated with mRNA, they will be excluded from society. She did not make any other statement to imply the same.
The People's Voice points out in the article that Moore asserted that RNA would be injected straight into people's hearts to treat cardiac diseases— which the outlet claims are a side effect of COVID-19 vaccines. However, according to the British Heart Foundation, there is no evidence linking COVID-19 vaccines to cardiac arrests. A study in the British Medical Journal found that cases of myocarditis connected to COVID-19 vaccines are rare, and the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.
Other claims in the article
The article falsely asserted that Dr. Anthony Fauci, former chief medical advisor to the U.S. president, declared that "all unvaccinated citizens must be locked down this winter." Firstly, Dr. Fauci stepped down as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 2022 and has no authority to implement such protocols. Second, another article by The People's Voice, making the same claim, referred to an interview of Dr. Fauci on 'Pandemic Lessons and Role of Faculty in Pandemic Preparedness' held by Wayne State University in August 2023. On checking the interview transcript, we found that Dr. Fauci said nothing about unvaccinated citizens or implementing lockdowns in winter.
Further, The People's Voice claims that Bill Gates is vaccinating farm animals with mRNA vaccines. We found that in 2018, Gates had said, "The Gates Foundation has partnered with DFID on a great number of things and, among those, are work we do together on livestock." In this context, he added, "Helping animals survive either by having vaccines or better genetics, helping them be more productive." However, Gates did not "boast that he is slipping mRNA into the food supply", nor did he say that he wanted to give animals better genetics using vaccines. Further, Logically Facts found that no mRNA vaccines are authorized for use in animals in the U.S. or Europe.
The article also claims that the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) uses genetically modified mosquitoes to vaccinate humans. Logically Facts found that genetically modified mosquito programs aim to reduce the spread of diseases, including the Zika virus, dengue, and yellow fever.
In the end, the article claims that the World Economic Forum(WEF) wants to vaccinate people through water. However, we found that a statement by Mariana Mazzucato, a University College London (UCL) professor, at a WEF conference on the 'New Economics of Water' has been taken out of context and misinterpreted.
The verdict
Contrary to the viral narrative, Bill Gates never stated that an "mRNA tsunami is coming" or that people will be excluded from society if not vaccinated with mRNA. The claim originates from a website that regularly publishes false and fabricated reports.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.