比爾·蓋茨超過5G成為新冠病毒陰謀論的頭號目標_風聞

以下內容來自The Verge網站4/17日的報道，筆者進行了簡要的翻譯。

Bill Gates is now the favorite target for coronavirus misinformation according to data compiled by the New York Times and Zignal Labs, a company that analyzes media sources. Conspiracy theories conflating Gates with the virus were mentioned 1.2 million times on TV and social media from February to April, 33 percent more often than the 2nd most popular conspiracy theory linking 5G with COVID-19, according to Zignal Labs, peaking at 18,000 mentions a day in April.

根據《紐約時報》和Zignal 實驗室的分析報告，自二月以來，提及蓋茨與新冠的陰謀論已經在電視和新媒體上傳播了120萬次，超過5G新冠陰謀論33%。四月最高峯一天就達到18000次傳播。

Hoaxes directed at the Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist, are all over YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. The New York Times found 16,000 posts on Facebook this year that were liked and commented on nearly 900,000 times. The 10 most popular Youtube videos spreading misinformation about Gates and the virus were viewed almost five millions times in March and April. The falsehoods being spread vary, but range from him creating COVID-19 in order to profit from a vaccine, or of Gates being a member of a plot to cull humanity and/or implement a global surveillance system.

油管上觀看次數最多的10個帶有誤導性信息的視頻總瀏覽量（三月和四月）達到了500萬次，主題包括蓋茨通過製造新冠肺炎以在疫苗生產中牟利，或者是蓋茨參與密謀選擇性清除人類和/或建立一個全球監控系統。

A Bill Gates speech from 2015, where he warns that the greatest threat to humanity is infectious disease, not nuclear war, has received 25 million new views in recent weeks. According to the New York Times, anti-vaxxers, right-wing pundits, and members of the conspiracy group QAnon claim the video is evidence of Gates’ dastardly plan to use a pandemic for his personal gain.

蓋茨著名的2015年關於人類流行性疾病的演講也成為了反疫苗者、右翼學者、陰謀論組織口中的證據，證明蓋茨卑鄙地想通過全球大流行性疾病來獲取個人利益。

Gates has long been an outspoken critic of President Trump. On Wednesday, he said Trump’s decision to defund WHO was “as dangerous as it sounds,” although he didn’t call out the president by name. Gates also criticized the administration in a recent op-ed, saying “There’s no question the United States missed the opportunity to get ahead of the novel coronavirus.”

蓋茨一直以來都直言不諱地批評特朗普總統。他對這次政府的緩慢應對也多有批評之聲。

Although Gates refused to comment on his new-found notoriety, Mark Suzman, chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, told the NYT that it was “distressing that there are people spreading misinformation when we should all be looking for ways to collaborate and save lives.”

蓋茨對這波針對他的陰謀論拒絕置評，但蓋茨梅琳達基金會的CEO Mark Suzman對此深表憂慮。