Bill Gates has hit out at the “crazy” and “evil” conspiracy theories that have dogged him during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an interview with Reuters, the Microsoft founder said he can’t believe the volume of “crazy conspiracy theories” that have been posted about him and Dr. Anthony Fauci over the past year. “Nobody would have predicted that I and Dr. Fauci would be so prominent in these really evil theories,” Gates said. “I’m very surprised by that. I hope it goes away.” The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed around $1.75 billion to the global response to COVID-19, including some support for vaccine-makers, which has led to baseless theories that Gates is trying to insert microchips into people around the world. “Do people really believe that stuff?,” Gates asked. “We’re really going to have to get educated about this... how does it change peoples’ behaviour and how should we have minimized this?”