Bill Gates and the 'new normal' COVID-19 conspiracy theories: 'it's a new thing' or nothing new under the sun?

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 and the subsequent lockdowns led to widespread conspiracy theories often involving one particular actor: Bill Gates. Adherents of these conspiracy theories believed Gates was behind the pandemic for some nefarious purpose, including chipping and/or eugenics. T...

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Publicado en:Journal for Cultural Research Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 136 - 154
Autores principales: Siraki, Arby Ted, Mohammad, Malek H.
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jun2023
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Bill Gates and the 'new normal' COVID-19 conspiracy theories: 'it's a new thing' or nothing new under the sun?
      aug:
        au:
          Siraki, Arby Ted
          Mohammad, Malek H.
        affil:
          Department of English, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE
          Department of English, American University of Kuwait
      su:
        Gates, Bill, 1955-
        Conspiracy theories
        Eugenics
        COVID-19
      sug:
        subj:
          Gates, Bill, 1955-
          Conspiracy theories
          Eugenics
          COVID-19
      keyword:
        Bill Gates
        conspiracy theory
        misinformation
        online media
        popular culture
        SARS-CoV-2
      ab: The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in late 2019 and the subsequent lockdowns led to widespread conspiracy theories often involving one particular actor: Bill Gates. Adherents of these conspiracy theories believed Gates was behind the pandemic for some nefarious purpose, including chipping and/or eugenics. This was, however, no fringe sentiment: celebrities and other prominent voices articulated some iteration of the Gates-COVID-19 conspiracy theory beginning in 2020. Though the conspiracy theory appears to have come out of nowhere, it does have a (pre-)history. Some have tried to point to a single or recent origin, but it is in fact much older, more complex, and informed by real developments over the previous two decades. This article traces the origins of the conspiracy theory going back to its prehistory in the 1990s, describes the narrative in its various iterations and (per)mutations – along with Gates's shifting role in them – and charts the dissemination of this dynamic conspiracy theory while examining some of its notable tropes.
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