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A FACEBOOK POST circulated in recent days claims that Italy wants to charge Microsoft founder Bill Gates with crimes against humanity.
Gates, one of the world’s wealthiest people, has made headlines in recent months as part of his foundation’s efforts to find a vaccine for Covid-19.
This specific claim – “Italy wants to charge Gates with crimes against humanity” – has its origins in a speech made by Sara Cunial, a member of the Italian Parliament.
On 14 May during a parliamentary session, Cunial, once a member of Italy’s right-wing Five Star Movement, addressed the Italian parliament and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
Addressing Conte, Cunial said: “Next time you receive a phone call from the ‘philanthropist’ Bill Gates, forward it directly to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.”
During her speech, Cunial also claimed that Gates had used vaccines to sterilise millions of women in Africa and criticised his connections to telecommunications companies behind the adoption of 5G in the United States. She also claimed Gates had once said only genocide could save the world.
Towards the end of her 14 May speech in which she called for Gates to be charged with crimes against humanity, Cunial is interrupted and heckled in the chamber, suggesting there is not widespread support among Italian parliamentarians for her call.
Cunial is just one MP and, therefore, her speech does not represent the Italian government’s position.
A controversial figure in Italy, Cunial was expelled from the Five Star Movement in 2019 after accusing the party of being “agri-mafias”. Before that, in 2018, she was suspended from the party after comparing vaccines to “genocide”. She is now an independent.
In fact, the Facebook claim appears to stem solely from Cunial’s speech and nowhere else. No other member of Italy’s parliament has called for any such action against Gates in recent weeks.
This claim is false. Italy nor its Parliament wants to charge Bill Gates with crimes against humanity.
***
There is a lot of false news and scaremongering being spread in Ireland at the moment about coronavirus. Here are some practical ways for you to assess whether the messages that you’re seeing – especially on WhatsApp – are true or not.
STOP, THINK AND CHECK
Look at where it’s coming from. Is it someone you know? Do they have a source for the information (e.g. the HSE website) or are they just saying that the information comes from someone they know? A lot of the false news being spread right now is from people claiming that messages from ‘a friend’ of theirs. Have a look yourself – do a quick Google search and see if the information is being reported elsewhere.
Secondly, get the whole story, not just a headline. A lot of these messages have got vague information (“all the doctors at this hospital are panicking”) and don’t mention specific details. This is often – but not always a sign – that it may not be accurate.
Finally, see how you feel after reading it. A lot of these false messages are designed to make people feel panicked. They’re deliberately manipulating your feelings to make you more likely to share it. If you feel panicked after reading something, check it out and see if it really is true.
TheJournal.ie’s FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. You can read it here. For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader’s Guide here. You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here
Have you gotten a message on WhatsApp or Facebook or Twitter about coronavirus that you’re not sure about and want us to check it out? Message or mail us and we’ll look into debunking it. WhatsApp: 085 221 4696 or Email: answers@thejournal.ie.
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Could they not find some other way to protest rather than releasing all those toxins into the atmosphere? FFS!!!
Yes, of all things, why burn tyres? That’s like tear-gassing your own area, only filthier.
@Ciaran Farrelly: yup, feeling slightly less sorry for them after that move.
That’s Messi.
COVID 19 is great for long term labour costs of multinationals
@John Hoare: your value to an employer is controlled by the employee. Develop a skill that people are willing to pay more for and you’ll not only earn more, you’ll be less vulnerable to companies looking for cheaper labour
@Oracle Steve: that sounds like a pr statement from IBEC
@Carlin Ite:
He is right to some extent though.
Low cost labour markets up-skill to take jobs from higher cost markets. The only option for the higher cost markets is to up-skill themselves
There is a reason we don’t have t-shirt manufacturing plants in Ireland but we do have computer chip manufacturing.
@Oracle Steve:
That’s true… until your useful skill becomes devalued over time. Forklift drivers used to make mad cash.
Here’s a great stat, 50% of software developers have been in the industry for less than 5 years. The median age of a software developer is 27. Anyone getting into software today has basically missed the train. When the market is saturated with developers, and you’re in your mid 40s with a family, will you be able to retrain?
Nobody can truly predict what a safe career will be, everyone’s into “personal responsibility” until it’s them who gets laid off.
@David Bourke: safe career – Undertaker or Taxman.
@David Bourke: Depends on your software skills, full stack engineers are in big demand in Ireland.
@DJ François:
The point ——->
yout head
No mention of them moving the production to England…would go against the aul anti Brexit narrative
@Derek Durkin: post Brexit they’ll get away with paying low wages and contracts without benefits.
@Derek Durkin: Funny that! We were told that Brexit would result in Nissan relocating it’s Sunderland production to the EU. Instead it has relocated EU production to Sunderland. Also, the FT has reported that Renault will relocate production of the Captur and Kadjar models from Spain to the UK. We will know for sure tomorrow. Also rumours about PSA and UK.
I guess Bojo was not the only one telling porkies.
@Harry Stotle: when the media tell you one thing and make a big agenda out of it then it is almost always the opposite.
They must have been sick and tyred
I wonder has this anything to do with the political uncertainty due to the Catalan separatist movement.
@Diogenes Cat: no
Good to see protest ! If that was in Ireland we’d be all moaning on the barstool …, ehhhm wait …. on our patios
@Aunties: destruction is not a protest.
@Aunties: were you on the moon for the water protests?
@Fabio Dillon: never been to France then ?
When people are pushed too far they do things that are rarely normal or law abiding in their oppressors eyes whether vandalism or violently raging against the machine
I felt sorry for them losing their jobs, a tragic result of this disastrous lockdown policy. But burning ties was a very irresponsible move. Reflects poorly on them, and It is hard to be sympathetic towards them for such a disgusting action.
Greta wont be happy
Governments need to stop bailing out business for billions, that’s crazy, would be far cheaper to pay the people effected a basis wage for a reasonable amount of time for them to get a job, or something like that
This is what happens when you vote for Green Party policies and it will get worse.
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