Multiple Facebook posts circulating in Thailand have shared a claim that billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said Covid-19 vaccines are "far more dangerous than anyone imagined". But the purported comments -- which some social media users appeared to believe were genuine -- originated in a satirical report. A spokesperson for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation told AFP that Bill Gates did not make the purported remarks.
The claim was shared on Facebook here on September 7.
The post's Thai-language caption translates to English in part as: "In a shocking announcement, Bill Gates, billionaire Microsoft co-founder and the major force behind the Covid-19 vaccines, called for all the Covid-19 genetic-based vaccines to be taken off the market immediately.
"Gates said: 'We made a terrible mistake. We wanted to protect people against a dangerous virus. But it turns out the virus is much less dangerous than we thought. And the vaccine is far more dangerous than anyone imagined".
The post shows an image of Bill Gates overlaid with text that reads: "Covid-19 warning from Bill Gates".
As of September 10, 2021, about 16 per cent of the Thai population had received two coronavirus vaccine doses, the government's Covid-19 task force said. AFP reported on the vaccination drive here.
Gates has been a frequent target of Covid-19 misinformation, as debunked by AFP here and here.
A similar claim was also shared in Facebook posts here and here.
Comments on the posts indicated some social...
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