Our guest is a Doctor of Social Science, Communication and Media Studies from the Helsinki Collegium for Advance Studies at the University of Helsinki, in Finland. Few days ago, AFP News published an article called: Bill Gates, Bogeyman Of Virus Conspiracy Theorists. The article talked about all this claims targeting the billionaire philanthropist, that are gaining traction online since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, with experts warning they could hamper efforts to curb the virus. Doctored photos and fabricated news articles crafted by conspiracy theorists — shared thousands of times on social media platforms and messaging apps, in various languages — have gone as far as accusing the Microsoft founder of creating the outbreak.
Bill Gates, who has pledged $250 million to efforts to fight the pandemic, is the latest in a string of online targets despite the World Health Organization’s efforts to fight what it called an “infodemic” — misinformation fanned by panic and confusion about the virus. In recent months, 5G networks and Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros have also been blamed for creating COVID-19, which has killed more than 333,000 people around the world.
Our guest Dr. Polinzuk wrote recently a work called: THE ALLURE OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC. We hope you enjoy this interview.
