False Claim About Bill Gates Calling to 'Depopulation by Vaccines' Resurfaces
A photo showing a newspaper, 2011 edition of Ireland-based newspaper The Sovereign Independent, claiming that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates wants to reduce the world population through "forced vaccination" has resurfaced online.
The front page headline says, “Depopulation Through Forced Vaccination: The Zero Carbon Solution”.
An archive can be seen here.
(Source: Threads/Screenshot)
(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)
What's the truth?: This claim is false. This article incorrectly suggests that Gates wants to depopulate the world through vaccinations.
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It links this to Gates' speech in 2010, wherein he stated that vaccinations can reduce child mortality, which in turn will lead to reduced birth rates, population growth and lesser carbon emissions
How did we find out the truth?: We performed a keyword search and found that the viral cover image is of the fourth edition of the Ireland-based newspaper, The Sovereign Independent, which was published in 2011.
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According to a note by its editor Dave Derby, the first edition was published in 2009. However, this newspaper is not available online now.
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We noticed that the paper often shared conspiracy theories in 2011.
What did the article claim?: We accessed the archived version of this newspaper's June 2011 version, which can be seen here.
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It mentioned an old quote from Gates about the population in the wrong context.
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Plus, the article was attributed to Rachel Windeer.
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The quote was picked up from a 2010 TED Conference (transcript can be seen here), which reads, “The world today has 6.8 billion people. That’s headed up to about nine billion. Now, if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by, perhaps, 10 or 15 percent.”
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But in this speech, “Innovating to Zero”, Gates discussed ways the world could bring down carbon emissions and suggested that one of the ways was by reducing population growth through improving healthcare.
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This statement was picked up by the newspaper and shared out of context. In reality, Gates suggested that population growth can be reduced by 10 to 15 percent, so he was not talking about the population itself.
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Moreover, he also points out other factors, such as the services used by every individual, which require heavy energy and carbon emissions.
Conclusion: An old newspaper carrying a misleading claim about Bill Gates calling to reduce population by using vaccination has gone viral again.
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Heavy rain, hailstorms lash parts of Uttarakhand; all districts put on high alert
Dehradun (PTI): Heavy rain and hailstorms accompanied by strong winds lashed several districts of Uttarakhand on Sunday morning, prompting the state administration to put all district authorities on high alert.
The sudden change in weather caused uprooted trees to block roads and disrupted power supply at various locations.
Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman chaired a review meeting with district officials to assess the situation.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate rain and thunderstorms at most places across all districts for Monday and Tuesday. Snowfall is expected in regions situated at altitudes of 4,000 metres and above.
An 'orange alert' remains in place for Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar. These districts are likely to witness isolated heavy rain, hailstorms, and intense to very intense spells of rain accompanied by gusty winds reaching speeds of 40-50 kmph, the IMD said.
The weather office predicted that maximum temperatures across the state are likely to fall by 3-5 degrees Celsius over the next three to four days. During the past 24 hours, maximum temperatures remained "markedly below normal" in the plains and ranged from "markedly" to "appreciably" below normal in the hilly regions.
Dehradun experienced dark, overcast skies early Sunday, creating night-like conditions during morning hours. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 34.7 degrees Celsius, 5.3 degrees Celsius below the seasonal average.
For the state capital, the forecast predicts a partly to generally cloudy sky with a high of 31 degrees Celsius and a low of 19 degrees Celsius.
Significant rainfall was recorded across the state after 8.30 am on Sunday, with Jollygrant receiving 21.6 mm and Mohakampur recording 19.8 mm. Other areas, including Mukteshwar (15.0 mm), Mussoorie (13.4 mm), and Pithoragarh (8.5 mm), also saw measurable precipitation.
Secretary Suman directed officials to clear blocked roads on priority to ensure public convenience. Specific instructions were issued regarding the Char Dham Yatra, ordering that helicopter services must operate strictly according to weather conditions to ensure pilgrims' safety.
Isolated places in the remaining hilly districts are also expected to experience thunderstorms with lightning and intense rain spells.
