Debunking Borat (2021) s01e02 Episode Script
Mail-in Ballots Scam
BORAT: Nice to meet you.
- Oh, okay.
- Yes.
SACHA: In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,
I lived with two conspiracy theorists,
in character, for several days.
- Vaccines.
- Bill Gates.
- Mail-in ballots.
- Chinese virus.
- Drink their blood.
- Not nice.
The myths and misinformation
they shared with Borat
fuel a dangerous rhetoric
that is tearing apart societies
in front of our eyes.
In this series of episodes,
we'll introduce Jim and Jerry
to world-leading experts,
doctors and academics,
who will address some of
the most dangerous conspiracies head-on,
and debunk them face-to-face.
Hello, Jim and Jerry.
This is Hilary Rodham Clinton.
What do you think
about with Bill Gates
and what, uh, the virus?
I mean, the vaccine.
I refuse. I'm not
It's not gonna happen. You know?
It's like, they've been
he's been running
the chip in Africa.
Putting the chips in,
in the vaccine shots.
- JIM: In the people.
- Put the chip in the needle?
- Yes.
- Yes.
I understand, when he did
a bunch of those vaccines
over there, he killed
a bunch of people with that.
NARRATOR: The conspiracy theory,
falsely linking Bill Gates
to the concept of microchips in vaccines,
goes back to a theoretical study
done at MIT in 2019.
The purpose of the study was to explore
how to improve healthcare in regions
with limited access to medical records
by storing data within the patient.
The solution they considered
used Quantum Dot Dye within vaccines
that contain a person's
vaccination history.
A major supporter of the study?
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
So, a theoretical study,
designed to save lives,
got put through the internet
ringer and became,
"Bill Gates is inserting
microchips in vaccines
to track the population."
- I'm excited to meet you.
- Excited to meet you.
- So, I'm Jennifer.
- You're a doctor or something, right?
I'm an epidemiologist.
Jennifer Nuzzo,
with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School.
Dr. Nuzzo, great to have you
back on the NewsHour.
When I think back
to who had it right, it's you.
I got a lot of questions for you.
The world is on the brink of
a great scientific achievement.
A COVID-19 vaccine will likely
be ready by early next year.
I get a lot of questions
about the vaccines,
and whether they have microchips in it.
And there's so much
misinformation out there.
A lot of people do believe it.
The microchip is, like,
- really small, though.
- JENNIFER: It's like people
Honestly, it puzzles me why
people think that there are
microchips in the vaccines.
Um, in part, because it just
doesn't really add up.
And the needle is small.
It's less than half a millimeter.
A microchip able to track your movements
would also need to include
a battery and an antenna.
The smallest possible version
of those right now
are about the size of a coin.
First of all, how it could
actually even fit through the needle?
It's, it's not possible.
And, at the end of the day,
I ask "why"?
Like, why would we do that
when the phones that we carry
in our pockets
relay so much more information?
I got to thinking about that,
when I first heard about it,
and I thought "I-I don't know
if that's true."
I just I don't know.
JENNIFER: We are seeing polls showing
high levels of vaccine hesitancy.
And there is no way,
as long as I'm living,
that my children are going
to be injected with that.
JENNIFER: We worry that if we let this virus
continue to circulate at high levels,
that we could see the emergence
of new genetic mutants.
Or, worst-case scenario,
possibly overcome the vaccine
and medicines that we have.
The government is saying,
"Get the vaccine.
Get the vaccine."
- Yeah.
- Um, "It's safe. It's good. Get it."
But yet, you watch, and you
pay attention to the news
over in this area,
and they talk about
a small number of people
that's died from getting the vaccine.
And with the side effects
that they're getting from it,
it's, kind of, like,
what they're saying,
like cerebral palsy.
JENNIFER: When you administer
nearly a billion vaccines worldwide,
it's not surprising
to see very rare side effects.
You are much, much, much
more likely to die of COVID
than from a vaccine.
Any halt in vaccination
just shows how carefully
we're watching for side effects.
The terrible thing about these
anti-science conspiracy theories,
is that they can have really
devastating consequences.
Not only for the individuals
who-who hold them,
but for public health.
NARRATOR: Microsoft and Google's
first quarter statements
showed record income
beyond projected expectations.
Online advertising boosted revenues
driven by search results
and YouTube autoplays.
The search and autoplay
functions are perfectly designed
to send viewers down
conspiracy theory rabbit holes.
Despite promises to keep users safe,
Big Tech makes up to $1 billion a year
from the anti-vax industry,
which threatens the effectiveness
of the coronavirus vaccine.
The vaccine will not go
in my body, period.
So, we very much need
a high level of confidence in the vaccine,
a high level of willingness
to get vaccinated by everybody,
and a high availability of vaccines
to protect every country on the planet.
Any lingering questions
about the vaccines?
We could talk about this all day long.
Listen, please get vaccinated.
I want you to get vaccinated.
These vaccines are some of
the best vaccines we have, period.
There have been some scientists
who have been working
on coronavirus vaccines for decades.
You know, more than a decade, 15 years.
We are all terrified of the idea
of losing our autonomy,
losing control over
what we do
and-and what we think.
And this, I think,
is an expression of that larger,
more widespread belief or anxiety.
Just a tiny, little shot,
twice, and you're done.
Can't make no promises.
Uh
[♪♪♪]
[♪♪♪]
BORAT: Nice to meet you.
- Oh, okay.
- Yes.
SACHA: In Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,
I lived with two conspiracy theorists,
in character, for several days.
- Vaccines.
- Bill Gates.
- Mail-in ballots.
- Chinese virus.
- Drink their blood.
- Not nice.
The myths and misinformation
they shared with Borat
fuel a dangerous rhetoric
that is tearing apart societies
in front of our eyes.
In this series of episodes,
we'll introduce Jim and Jerry
to world-leading experts,
doctors and academics,
who will address some of
the most dangerous conspiracies head-on,
and debunk them face-to-face.
Hello, Jim and Jerry.
This is Hilary Rodham Clinton.
What do you think
about with Bill Gates
and what, uh, the virus?
I mean, the vaccine.
I refuse. I'm not
It's not gonna happen. You know?
It's like, they've been
he's been running
the chip in Africa.
Putting the chips in,
in the vaccine shots.
- JIM: In the people.
- Put the chip in the needle?
- Yes.
- Yes.
I understand, when he did
a bunch of those vaccines
over there, he killed
a bunch of people with that.
NARRATOR: The conspiracy theory,
falsely linking Bill Gates
to the concept of microchips in vaccines,
goes back to a theoretical study
done at MIT in 2019.
The purpose of the study was to explore
how to improve healthcare in regions
with limited access to medical records
by storing data within the patient.
The solution they considered
used Quantum Dot Dye within vaccines
that contain a person's
vaccination history.
A major supporter of the study?
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
So, a theoretical study,
designed to save lives,
got put through the internet
ringer and became,
"Bill Gates is inserting
microchips in vaccines
to track the population."
- I'm excited to meet you.
- Excited to meet you.
- So, I'm Jennifer.
- You're a doctor or something, right?
I'm an epidemiologist.
Jennifer Nuzzo,
with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School.
Dr. Nuzzo, great to have you
back on the NewsHour.
When I think back
to who had it right, it's you.
I got a lot of questions for you.
The world is on the brink of
a great scientific achievement.
A COVID-19 vaccine will likely
be ready by early next year.
I get a lot of questions
about the vaccines,
and whether they have microchips in it.
And there's so much
misinformation out there.
A lot of people do believe it.
The microchip is, like,
- really small, though.
- JENNIFER: It's like people
Honestly, it puzzles me why
people think that there are
microchips in the vaccines.
Um, in part, because it just
doesn't really add up.
And the needle is small.
It's less than half a millimeter.
A microchip able to track your movements
would also need to include
a battery and an antenna.
The smallest possible version
of those right now
are about the size of a coin.
First of all, how it could
actually even fit through the needle?
It's, it's not possible.
And, at the end of the day,
I ask "why"?
Like, why would we do that
when the phones that we carry
in our pockets
relay so much more information?
I got to thinking about that,
when I first heard about it,
and I thought "I-I don't know
if that's true."
I just I don't know.
JENNIFER: We are seeing polls showing
high levels of vaccine hesitancy.
And there is no way,
as long as I'm living,
that my children are going
to be injected with that.
JENNIFER: We worry that if we let this virus
continue to circulate at high levels,
that we could see the emergence
of new genetic mutants.
Or, worst-case scenario,
possibly overcome the vaccine
and medicines that we have.
The government is saying,
"Get the vaccine.
Get the vaccine."
- Yeah.
- Um, "It's safe. It's good. Get it."
But yet, you watch, and you
pay attention to the news
over in this area,
and they talk about
a small number of people
that's died from getting the vaccine.
And with the side effects
that they're getting from it,
it's, kind of, like,
what they're saying,
like cerebral palsy.
JENNIFER: When you administer
nearly a billion vaccines worldwide,
it's not surprising
to see very rare side effects.
You are much, much, much
more likely to die of COVID
than from a vaccine.
Any halt in vaccination
just shows how carefully
we're watching for side effects.
The terrible thing about these
anti-science conspiracy theories,
is that they can have really
devastating consequences.
Not only for the individuals
who-who hold them,
but for public health.
NARRATOR: Microsoft and Google's
first quarter statements
showed record income
beyond projected expectations.
Online advertising boosted revenues
driven by search results
and YouTube autoplays.
The search and autoplay
functions are perfectly designed
to send viewers down
conspiracy theory rabbit holes.
Despite promises to keep users safe,
Big Tech makes up to $1 billion a year
from the anti-vax industry,
which threatens the effectiveness
of the coronavirus vaccine.
The vaccine will not go
in my body, period.
So, we very much need
a high level of confidence in the vaccine,
a high level of willingness
to get vaccinated by everybody,
and a high availability of vaccines
to protect every country on the planet.
Any lingering questions
about the vaccines?
We could talk about this all day long.
Listen, please get vaccinated.
I want you to get vaccinated.
These vaccines are some of
the best vaccines we have, period.
There have been some scientists
who have been working
on coronavirus vaccines for decades.
You know, more than a decade, 15 years.
We are all terrified of the idea
of losing our autonomy,
losing control over
what we do
and-and what we think.
And this, I think,
is an expression of that larger,
more widespread belief or anxiety.
Just a tiny, little shot,
twice, and you're done.
Can't make no promises.
Uh
[♪♪♪]
[♪♪♪]