Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

Instagram posts

stated on November 28, 2024 in an Instagram post:

“Bill Gates has been indicted in the Netherlands.”

By Loreben Tuquero December 5, 2024

Bill Gates was not indicted in the Netherlands. Claim alludes to a civil case.

If Your Time is short

Bill Gates was among defendants sued in a civil case by seven plaintiffs in the Netherlands who said they suffered injuries from vaccines that Gates and other defendants promoted.
After Gates’ attorneys argued the Court of Northern Netherlands lacked jurisdiction to hear the case against him because Gates does not live there, the court issued a judgment rejecting that argument.
The judgment was not an indictment. A court spokesperson confirmed the judgment also did not address the larger case involving the plaintiffs’ complaints of injuries.

See the sources for this fact-check

An Instagram post shared what looked like explosive news: "Bill Gates Indicted," it said between two yellow "caution" emojis.

The Nov. 28 post’s proof? A video showing former U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. saying Gates had been "indicted in the Netherlands for lying to the public about the COVID vaccine."

The post’s caption claimed Kennedy "has made public that Bill Gates has been indicted in the Netherlands for lying to the public about jabs."

But the post is wrong. Gates, the philanthropist and Microsoft Corp. co-founder, wasn’t indicted and Kennedy, who made these comments Oct. 23 in Duluth, Georgia, months after suspending his presidential campaign and supporting Donald Trump, didn’t prove that he had.

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

Gates was sued in the Netherlands as part of a civil case brought by seven plaintiffs who claimed that they suffered injuries from vaccines they said Gates and other defendants promoted. It is not a criminal case.

Sign up for PolitiFact texts

An Oct. 16 Court of Northern Netherlands judgment ruled on Gates’ argument that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case because Gates does not live in the Netherlands.

The judgment did not directly name Gates, but it referred to a defendant "X," described as a co-director of a foundation addressing global poverty, disease and inequality. It also mentioned "X" being affiliated with the Gavi, an international organization working to expand access to vaccines, and the World Economic Forum. The judgment further said "X" had a Dec. 3, 2020, interview with NBC News’ Today, uploaded on YouTube with the title, "It looks like almost all the vaccines are going to succeed." All these descriptions match Gates’ profile and the court confirmed to PolitiFact that X refers to Gates.

"To be clear, that judgment does not say anything about the larger case," court spokesperson Anno Rijpkema said.

Threads posts

stated on November 12, 2024 in a Threads post

“It was just Biden and Trump in 2020” general election ballots.

A provision in the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure allows a Dutch court — such as the Court of Northern Netherlands — to gain jurisdiction as long as it has jurisdiction over at least one defendant and provided that the claims against the defendants have the same underlying set of facts and are closely related legally.

The court ruled that it has "international jurisdiction over the American co-defendant," and charged Gates legal costs amounting to 1,406 euros or around $1,478 (as of Dec. 3). In a Dutch court, the losing party shoulders legal costs.

Gates is not obliged to appear personally when the larger case goes to civil trial, Rijpkema said, but his attorneys can represent him.

We rate the claim that Gates was indicted in the Netherlands False.