Original subtitles

[Borat] Nice to meet you.

- Oh, okay. - Yes.

[Sacha] In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,

I lived with two conspiracy theorists,

in character, for several days.

- Vaccines. - Bill Gates.

- Mail-in ballots. - Chinese virus.

- Drink their blood. - Not nice.

The myths and misinformation they shared with Borat

fuel a dangerous rhetoric that is tearing apart societies

in front of our eyes.

In this series of episodes,

we'll introduce Jim and Jerry to world-leading experts,

doctors and academics,

who will address some of

the most dangerous conspiracies head-on,

and debunk them face-to-face.

Hello, Jim and Jerry.

This is Hilary Rodham Clinton.

What do you think about with Bill Gates

and what, uh, the virus?

I mean, the vaccine.

I refuse. I'm not...

It's not gonna happen. You know?

It's like, they've been... he's been running

the chip in Africa.

Putting the chips in, in the vaccine shots.

- [Jim] In the people. - Put the chip in the needle?

- Yes. - Yes.

I understand, when he did a bunch of those vaccines

over there, he killed a bunch of people with that.

[narrator] The conspiracy theory,

falsely linking Bill Gates

to the concept of microchips in vaccines,

goes back to a theoretical study done at MIT in 2019.

The purpose of the study was to explore

how to improve healthcare in regions

with limited access to medical records

by storing data within the patient.

The solution they considered

used Quantum Dot Dye within vaccines

that contain a person's vaccination history.

A major supporter of the study?

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

So, a theoretical study, designed to save lives,

got put through the internet ringer and became,

"Bill Gates is inserting microchips in vaccines

to track the population."

- I'm excited to meet you. - Excited to meet you.

- So, I'm Jennifer. - You're a doctor or something, right?

I'm an epidemiologist.

Jennifer Nuzzo,

with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School.

Dr. Nuzzo, great to have you back on the NewsHour.

When I think back to who had it right, it's you.

I got a lot of questions for you.

The world is on the brink of a great scientific achievement.

A COVID-19 vaccine will likely be ready by early next year.

I get a lot of questions about the vaccines,

and whether they have microchips in it.

And there's so much misinformation out there.

A lot of people do believe it.

The microchip is, like,

- really small, though. - [Jennifer] It's like people...

Honestly, it puzzles me why

people think that there are microchips in the vaccines.

Um, in part, because it just doesn't really add up.

And the needle is small.

It's less than half a millimeter.

A microchip able to track your movements

would also need to include a battery and an antenna.

The smallest possible version of those right now

are about the size of a coin.

First of all, how it could

actually even fit through the needle?

It's, it's not possible.

And, at the end of the day, I ask "why"?

Like, why would we do that

when the phones that we carry in our pockets

relay so much more information?

I got to thinking about that, when I first heard about it,

and I thought "I-I don't know if that's true."

I just... I don't know.

[Jennifer] We are seeing polls showing

high levels of vaccine hesitancy.

And there is no way,

as long as I'm living,

that my children are going to be injected with that.

[Jennifer] We worry that if we let this virus

continue to circulate at high levels,

that we could see the emergence of new genetic mutants.

Or, worst-case scenario,

possibly overcome the vaccine and medicines that we have.

The government is saying,

"Get the vaccine. Get the vaccine."

- Yeah. - Um, "It's safe. It's good. Get it."

But yet, you watch, and you pay attention to the news

over in this area, and they talk about

a small number of people

that's died from getting the vaccine.

And with the side effects that they're getting from it,

it's, kind of, like, what they're saying,

like cerebral palsy.

[Jennifer] When you administer

nearly a billion vaccines worldwide,

it's not surprising to see very rare side effects.

You are much, much, much more likely to die of COVID

than from a vaccine.

Any halt in vaccination just shows how carefully

we're watching for side effects.

The terrible thing about these

anti-science conspiracy theories,

is that they can have really devastating consequences.

Not only for the individuals who-who hold them,

but for public health.

[narrator] Microsoft and Google's

first quarter statements

showed record income beyond projected expectations.

Online advertising boosted revenues

driven by search results and YouTube autoplays.

The search and autoplay functions are perfectly designed

to send viewers down conspiracy theory rabbit holes.

Despite promises to keep users safe,

Big Tech makes up to $1 billion a year

from the anti-vax industry,

which threatens the effectiveness

of the coronavirus vaccine.

The vaccine will not go in my body, period.

So, we very much need

a high level of confidence in the vaccine,

a high level of willingness to get vaccinated by everybody,

and a high availability of vaccines

to protect every country on the planet.

Any lingering questions about the vaccines?

We could talk about this all day long.

Listen, please get vaccinated.

I want you to get vaccinated.

These vaccines are some of

the best vaccines we have, period.

There have been some scientists who have been working

on coronavirus vaccines for decades.

You know, more than a decade, 15 years.

We are all terrified of the idea

of losing our autonomy, losing control over

what we do and-and what we think.

And this, I think, is an expression of that larger,

more widespread belief or anxiety.

Just a tiny, little shot, twice, and you're done.

Can't make no promises.

Uh...

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