No, Bill Gates didn’t call for the ‘withdrawal of all COVID-19 vaccines’

In 2020, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates emerged as a leading voice in the effort to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. Since then, he and the philanthropic foundation he leads have been a frequent target of misinformation about their plans and motives. 

Fact-checking organizations have repeatedly debunked claims that Gates planned to use microchip implants to combat coronavirus. PolitiFact has also debunked misinformation about Gates and the COVID-19 vaccines, such as the idea that the Gates Foundation advocates for microchips with all medical procedures. 

Now social media users are circulating a false claim that Gates has changed his mind on the vaccines. 

"Shocking! Bill Gates calls for the withdrawal of all Covid-19 Vaccines; ‘The vaccines are far more dangerous than anyone imagined,’" reads the headline of one blog post.

The blog post goes on to say that Gates made a nearly 20-minute televised speech calling for the COVID-19 vaccines "to be taken off the market immediately."

"We made a terrible mistake," the blog post quotes Gates as saying in the purported speech. "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. These vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca — they’re killing people left and right — and they’re injuring some people very badly." 

This is false. There is no evidence that Gates said these things or called for COVID-19 vaccines to be withdrawn from the market.

The claims can be traced back to a blog post from the site The Daily Expose.

Since its initial publication, The Daily Expose’s post has been updated to include a prominent editor’s note at the top of the page.

Featured Fact-check

Threads posts

stated on October 23, 2024 in a Threads post

Kamala Harris’ statements about Trump invoking Adolf Hitler were based on a “debunked hoax from The Atlantic.”

"When we first published this article we should have made it clear at the beginning that it was satire rather than at the end," the note reads. "We did not do this and we apologise…" 

The original editor’s note included at the end of the blog post also clarifies that the claims were fabricated.  

"The above satire is fictional in that Mr. Gates has made no such speech and the Gates Foundation has not established any funds to compensate vaccine victims or to make available effective, inexpensive COVID-19 remedies," the note says. 

This is not the first time The Daily Expose has been responsible for spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines. 

Gates and the Gates Foundation have consistently advocated for COVID-19 vaccines.

"Getting safe vaccines out to the whole world will help bring the pandemic to an end," the foundation says in an FAQ page on its website, adding: "Billions of vaccines have been administered globally and there is significant safety data that regulatory bodies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration review to determine that vaccines are safe."

A blog post claimed that Gates called for "the withdrawal of all Covid-19 Vaccines" and said "the vaccines are far more dangerous than anyone imagined."

There is no evidence Gates said these things. The claims can be traced back to an article labeled as satire that contained misinformation and falsehoods. 

The Gates Foundation advocates for the COVID-19 vaccines.

We rate this claim Pants on Fire!