Post shares misleading claims about Dutch lawsuit against Bill Gates
The post suggested without evidence that Gates will soon stand trial for promoting COVID-19 vaccines.
An X post with more than one million views spurred concerns about COVID-19 vaccine safety.
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On December 16, an X post from a Sweden-based account shared the misleading claim that Bill Gates will stand trial in the Netherlands due to his allegedly false claims about COVID-19 vaccine safety. This claim initially emerged in October on a website known for publishing conspiracy theories. While several Dutch plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Gates and others for allegedly misleading the public about COVID-19 vaccine safety, it is unlikely that Gates will appear in court. The recent X post alleging that Gates will soon stand trial received approximately 1.2 million views, 102,000 likes, 27,000 reposts, and 2,800 comments as of December 17. Many comments falsely claimed that COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe.
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In light of persistent concerns about COVID-19 vaccine safety, health care providers and public health communicators may reiterate that COVID-19 vaccines have been rigorously tested and monitored and have been determined to be safe. In fact, COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials were among the largest trials in history. Severe vaccine side effects are extremely rare. Millions of people worldwide have safely received COVID-19 vaccines, which prevent severe illness, hospitalization, long-term health complications, and death from COVID-19.