Fact Check

Is 'Center for Global Human Population Reduction' Inscribed on a Gates Foundation Building?

A doctored image was used to promulgate an old conspiracy theory about Bill Gates.

Published April 30, 2020

 (Wikimedia Commons/Adbar)
Image Via Wikimedia Commons/Adbar
Claim:
A photograph shows the words "Center for Global Human Population Reduction" inscribed on a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation building.

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In April 2020, a photograph supposedly showing the words "Center for Global Human Population Reduction" inscribed on a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation building was widely shared on social media:

gates foundation tweet

This is not a genuine photograph. Although it does show part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation headquarters in Seattle, Washington, the words "Center for Global Population Control" were digitally added to this image.

Here's a look at the genuine photograph of the building (right) next to the doctored image (left):

This fake image was likely created to promote the conspiracy theory that Bill Gates, through his foundation, is seeking to control entire populations of human beings via the administration of vaccines. This conspiracy theory has been around for years, but it saw a resurgence in 2020 as the foundation started work on finding a vaccine to end the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic.

We took a deeper dive into this conspiracy back in 2016. You can read that article here.

Sources

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.   "COVID-19: Perspectives on the Global Response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus."     Retrieved 30 April 2020.

Kasprak, Alex.   "Did Bill Gates ‘Admit’ Vaccinations Are Designed So Governments Can ‘Depopulate’ the World?."     Snopes.   10 March 2017.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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