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'''ID2020, Bill Gates and the Mark of the Beast: how Covid-19
catalyses existing online conspiracy movements'''
By Elise Thomas and Albert Zhang
Against the backdrop of the global Covid-19 pandemic, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has become the subject of a diverse and rapidly expanding universe of conspiracy theories. As an example, a recent poll found that 44% of Republicans and 19% of Democrats in the US now believe that Gates is linked to a plot to use vaccinations as a pretext to implant microchips into people. And it’s not just America: 13% of Australians believe that Bill Gates played a role in the creation
and spread of the coronavirus, and among young Australians it’s 20%. Protests around the world, from Germany to Melbourne, have included anti-Gates chants and slogans.
This report takes a close look at a particular variant of the Gates conspiracy theories, which is referred to here as the ID2020 conspiracy (named after the non-profit ID2020 Alliance, which the conspiracy theorists claim has a role in the narrative), as a case study for examining the dynamics of online conspiracy theories on Covid-19. Like many conspiracy theories, that narrative builds on
legitimate concerns, in this case about privacy and surveillance in the context of digital identity systems, and distorts them in extreme and unfounded ways.
It’s important to note that there’s never just one version of a conspiracy theory—and that’s part of their power and reach. Often, there are as many variants on a given conspiracy theory as there are theorists, if not more. Each individual can shape and reshape whatever version of the theory they choose to believe, incorporating some narrative elements and rejecting others.
Broadly, however, the ID2020 conspiracy theory is a version of the widespread theory that Bill Gates and Microsoft are engaged in an effort to use the Covid-19 crisis as a pretext for mandatory vaccination programs, and that the vaccines in turn are a cover for implanting some form of microchip, radio frequency identification (RFID) chip or other digital tracking device. This chip is considered by some to be the satanic ‘Mark of the Beast’.
As the Covid-19 crisis has continued, the ID2020 conspiracy theory has evolved to incorporate other key narrative elements. This includes Event 201, which was a 2019 simulation of a pandemic outbreak that organisations connected to Gates participated in and that’s now viewed by conspiracists as proof that Gates and his associates were preparing for the Covid-19 outbreak, which they would later cause
It also includes Patent WO2020060606, filed by Microsoft in 2019 and published in March 2020, which patents a system for using human body activity for mining cryptocurrency. The particularly unfortunate number of this patent, which features three sixes and therefore is associated by some with satanic influences, has contributed to it becoming woven into the conspiracy theory.
Among the many conspiracy theories now surrounding Gates, this one is particularly worthy of attention because it highlights the way emergent events catalyse existing online conspiracy substrates. In times of crisis, these digital structures—the online communities, the content, the shaping of recommendation algorithms—serve to channel anxious, uncertain individuals towards conspiratorial beliefs. This report focuses primarily on the role and use of those digital structures in proliferating the ID2020 conspiracy.
The key findings of this case study are as follows:
On platforms where the overall activity on a topic or search term is low, a small number of
highly engaged conspiracists have the potential to exert disproportionate influence over
recommendation algorithms. This means that, when events drive a surge in mainstream
interest in a given topic or theme associated with the conspiracy, new users may be directed
towards conspiracy content or narratives, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of engagement and
algorithmic optimisation.
Online conspiracies often share real information, such as legitimate media reporting or official
documents, presented in a misleading or conspiratorial frame. This has two effects: it helps to
create an illusion of legitimacy, and it complicates the efforts of social media platforms to
moderate conspiratorial content.
Localised and globalised conspiracy narratives can be mutually reinforcing.
Established conspiracist communities adopt and dramatically boost new conspiratorial
narratives and elements. The adoption of the ID2020 conspiracy theory by established
conspiracist communities such as anti-vaxxers and QAnon* in the context of the Covid-19 crisis
has made the theory’s reach significantly greater than it previously was.
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