Social media users are sharing an article that falsely claims the U.S. military arrested billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates.
Examples can be seen here and here .
The posts share a link to an article published on RealRawNews.com (archive.ph/BXa8L) on Aug. 1, 2021, where the first paragraph reads: “The U.S. military on Tuesday arrested Microsoft founder Bill Gates, charging the socially awkward misfit with child trafficking and other unspeakable crimes against America and its people.”
Content from Real Raw News has been debunked by Reuters multiple times before, with examples visible here , here , and here .
The website states in its ‘About Us’ section (here) that: “Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice of legal counsel.”
The arrest of a widely known figure such as Gates would have been reported by news organizations around the world. Since the publication of the article, Gates has been active on his Twitter page (twitter.com/BillGates).
Reuters Fact Check has previously debunked similar claims about a Gates arrest or that he is facing trial here , here and here .
The Gates Foundation did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
VERDICT
False. The U.S. military has not arrested philanthropist Bill Gates on child sex trafficking charges; the source is a website which runs satirical stories.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here .
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.