The Source of the Vaccine Microchip Conspiracy Theory

Just for the record that is a definite no – there is no microchip or anything similar in any of the vaccines. There is zero evidence of this. This conspiracy theory all started with an innocent comment by the billionaire Bill Gates back on 18 March 2020. At this time there were only 150 reported deaths in the US. His foundation had just pledged US$1.75 billion toward international pandemic aid and he was answering some online questions on Reddit AMA. He predicted that one day, we would all carry a digital e-vaccine card for our health records that we could flash as we entered businesses. No mention of a microchip was made.

The next day a Swedish website picked up on the comment. The site administrator, known as CyphR, belongs to a community of biohackers who advocate for human implantable microchips – they actually have them themselves. He saw Gates’ comment and wrote in an email “WTF! This is it! Suddenly, chip implants don’t only have an actual, scalable mainstream application, but one that is an urgent medical need.” So they made a self-admitted huge leap to create the untrue headline that read: “Bill Gates will use microchip implants to fight coronavirus.”

A Baptist preacher from Florida came across the blog post a couple of days later. Adam Fannin had started his own church and YouTube channel in 2017 and had a deep distrust of Gates. Fanin altered the biohackers’ fantasy into a biblical prophecy. In a 9 minute YouTube sermon Fanin says “It’s not just an implantable ID system…It’s literally worshipping this beast.” He spoke about Gate’s aim to depopulate the planet and titled the post “Bill Gates – Microchip Vaccine Implants to fight Coronavirus” adding the word ‘vaccine’ to the biohackers headline.

The video quickly got 1.6 million views and the spread of the misinformation grew exponentially from there with many doomsayers and far right-wing news outlets repeating the conspiracy while adding their own spin.

On 13 April 2020 the former political advisor to then President Trump, Roger Stone, made a guest appearance on The Joe Piscopo Show in New York saying “Whether Bill Gates played some role in the creation and spread of this virus is open for vigorous debate. He and other globalists are definitely using it in a drive for mandatory vaccinations and microchipping people.” That afternoon, the New York Post gave the rant legitimacy by publishing the headline, “Roger Stone: Bill Gates may have created coronavirus to microchip people.” A survey in January this year found 1 in 10 adults in the US believed the COVID 19 vaccine had a tracking microchip in it.

And there you have it…the birth of a conspiracy theory that became mainstream!