20 Apr Does Microsoft Own Patent ‘666’ About Implanting Microchips in People?
As governments fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Snopes is fighting an “infodemic” of rumors and misinformation, and you can help. Read our coronavirus fact checks. Submit any questionable rumors and “advice” you encounter. Become a Founding Member to help us hire more fact-checkers. And, please, follow the CDC or WHO for guidance on protecting your community from the disease.
The spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease in 2020 sparked a flurry of conspiracy theories concerning where it originated, how it spread, and who was responsible for it. One such theory blamed the disease on Bill Gates and claimed that the former Microsoft CEO had started a pandemic so that he could insert microchips into people around the globe under the guise of providing vaccinations or for other purposes.
This conspiracy theory is propped up by little more than coincidences and misinterpretations. For instance, in April 2020 social media users started to share a link to a patent supposedly…