Bill Gates and his daughter Phoebe have had a candid discussion about the effect of conspiracy theories. The billionaire invited his 22-year-old daughter onto his new Netflix show, What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates to speak about the spread of misinformation and its effects. Bill, 68, asked his daughter if she had ever come across conspiracy theories about him.
READ MORE: The harrowing secret Bindi Irwin hid from the world for 10 years "All the time," she said, adding candidly, "I've even had friends cut me off because of these vaccine rumours." During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were unsubstantiated rumours the whole thing was a ploy so Bill could put microchips in vaccines to track people A Stanford graduate with a degree in human biology, Phoebe shared that social media played a part in blowing the misinformation about health out of proportion, telling her father facts and logic are not as important to those on social media, who are on there to find an escape from the realities of life. For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here .
She added that these conspiracy theories come from a place of fear, with the lack of resolute information about the new disease causing panic. "The pandemic was definitely social media at its worst, oversimplifying things," said Bill. "I need to learn more," he admitted, "because I naively still believe that digital communication can be a force to bring us together, to have a reasonable debate.
" READ MORE: Kylie Minogue announces first world tour in six years He later shared that his conversation with his daughter, who he shares with ex-wife Melinda Gates, was a "series highlight." He wrote on his blog Gates Notes that his daughter, "shared with me specific examples of how bad actors use misinformation and disinformation to disrupt progress. Phoebe is his youngest child, with he and his ex-wife also sharing Jennifer, 28, and Rory, 25.
READ MORE: Moment Justin Theroux knew he found 'the one' - before they even met He said of the women's rights activist, "Phoebe helped me better understand how women online - particularly women who stick up for other women - often face threats to their safety that are intended to make them think twice before they speak out. "I'm not exactly a stranger to people being mean to you online, but I have the luxury of (mostly) ignoring what gets said about me. "Phoebe explained how these threats can have a chilling effect on women's rights activism and shared some thoughtful ideas for how to make the Internet a safer place for everyone.
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