Debunking Borat (2021) s01e05 Episode Script
Gates' Bricks
Nice to meet you.
- Okay.
- Yes.
SACHA BARON COHEN: 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.
SACHA: 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 Hillary Rodham Clinton.
JIM: That is a virus
that was developed in China,
Wuhan, China.
They made a-a virus
that kills people.
So that means that you
have to be locked down.
You can't go out.
Your Democrats are trying
to brainwash people.
They're saying that
we shouldn't be at work.
And I feel like, that they
helped the Chinese create this.
JIM: Correct.
Democrats with Obama,
and I think it goes back to the Clintons,
when they were also in office.
NARRATOR: This conversation contains several
conspiracy theories that have
circulated since the onset
of the coronavirus pandemic.
From the moment the outbreak
began, many influential figures
began to spread unfounded accusations.
U.S. Senator Tom Cotton sent a tweet
connecting the coronavirus
to a Wuhan laboratory.
In India, scientists
speculated that the virus
may be genetically engineered.
In China, theories on social media
claimed that the U.S.
had manufactured the virus
as a weapon.
As the virus spread,
so did the finger-pointing.
Rush Limbaugh tells his
listeners that medical experts,
like Dr. Fauci, are Clinton sympathizers
who want to get rid of Trump.
Representative Matt Gaetz tweets out
a Washington Examiner article amplifying
the Obama-Wuhan connection story.
As the death toll rose in the U.S.,
Donald Trump blamed China and its people
while simultaneously
downplaying the coronavirus.
Even after scientists confirmed
that the virus was not man-made,
conspiracies continued
to expand exponentially.
- There we go.
- There you are.
I'm excited to meet you.
Excited to meet you.
My first movie stars I've ever met.
[LAUGHS]
- Yeah. We just hang out, man.
- Yeah?
So, I'm Jennifer.
Did they tell you anything about me?
- You're a doctor or something, right?
- NEWSWOMAN: I'm joined
by Dr. 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.
You know,
this pandemic's been so hard,
but the best thing, for me,
has been to meet people
that I wouldn't otherwise get to meet
- and to share what I know.
- JIM: Right.
And I think it's really
important for us to have
- conversations about tough issues
- Yes.
and share information.
Okay, let me ask you this, then.
The reason being, is it because
the Chinese mutated it?
So, we have no evidence
that that happened.
In fact, um, virologists
who have looked very closely
at the genetic sequence
of the virus have concluded
that it was, very likely,
not engineered by a human.
That it most likely originated from bats.
And whether it went directly
from bats to humans,
or if it went from bats to another animal,
we don't, uh, fully know yet.
Well, the scientist that, uh
the first lady that took
that out of the laboratory
died from it, so
Yeah, so let's, let's talk
about that a little bit.
- Um
- Okay.
Because I, I heard those stories, too,
and there's actually no evidence
that that happened.
There was, I know,
one woman who, um,
published a story alleging
a number of things
that have since been debunked
by, by actual scientists.
Um, the thing about these viruses,
these respiratory viruses,
they move fast,
and it's really hard
for any country to stop them
from spreading outside of their borders.
That's just how these things
are, and I just really worry
when we start pointing fingers
in the absence of evidence.
TRUMP: Some important developments
in our war against the Chinese virus.
I have to call it where it came
from. It did come from China.
So I think it's a very accurate term.
Kung flu.
- I can name
- [CROWD MURMURING]
19 different versions of names.
- The Chinese virus.
- [CROWD CHEERING]
WOMAN NEWS REPORTER: Why is this a
global competition to you
if every day Americans
are still losing their lives?
Well, they're losing their lives
everywhere in the world,
and maybe that's a question
you should ask China.
That China focus
really put blinders on us and our response.
Such that the virus could be
coming in from other places,
and we wouldn't have been able to detect it
and we weren't able to stop it.
And so, the huge surge
of cases in New York
wasn't due to an introduction
from China.
It was due to an introduction from Europe.
Conspiracy theories can often
have real consequences.
When Europe was hit
by the Bubonic Plague--
was in 1348 or '49--
this is blamed on Jews
allegedly poisoning the wells,
and there were horrific scenes
where Jews were burned alive
in the town squares,
but that kind of conspiracist
belief has continued
to, to the present day,
as we can see.
It's impossible to explain why on earth
the Chinese would want to do this,
given the fact that it had
a serious impact on their,
on their own country,
but that's a kind of bogeyman
that emerges at the center
of conspiracy theories.
Soon as that spreads and reaches
people who are racially
prejudiced against Chinese,
you get physical attacks.
NEWSWOMAN: Asian Americans are facing discrimination
not felt since the Japanese
American internment camps
during World War II.
Do you not think it would be
useful for, at this point,
for Donald Trump to say,
"You know what,
leave Asian Americans alone."
- Yes, I agree with that.
- That statement
- Do you not think he should be saying that?
- Yes.
That statement could be said
very clearly by anybody.
Yep, I agree with that.
But by, by, by Donald Trump,
who called it the "China virus."
The problem is that all
political sides pretend opinions
are facts and then use it to
achieve their aim because they
can't be bothered to actually
argue the point properly.
I have no doubt that,
if there weren't
so much misinformation
out there, we could have saved
tens of thousands to hundreds
of thousands of lives.
[♪♪♪]
Nice to meet you.
- Okay.
- Yes.
SACHA BARON COHEN: 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.
SACHA: 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 Hillary Rodham Clinton.
JIM: That is a virus
that was developed in China,
Wuhan, China.
They made a-a virus
that kills people.
So that means that you
have to be locked down.
You can't go out.
Your Democrats are trying
to brainwash people.
They're saying that
we shouldn't be at work.
And I feel like, that they
helped the Chinese create this.
JIM: Correct.
Democrats with Obama,
and I think it goes back to the Clintons,
when they were also in office.
NARRATOR: This conversation contains several
conspiracy theories that have
circulated since the onset
of the coronavirus pandemic.
From the moment the outbreak
began, many influential figures
began to spread unfounded accusations.
U.S. Senator Tom Cotton sent a tweet
connecting the coronavirus
to a Wuhan laboratory.
In India, scientists
speculated that the virus
may be genetically engineered.
In China, theories on social media
claimed that the U.S.
had manufactured the virus
as a weapon.
As the virus spread,
so did the finger-pointing.
Rush Limbaugh tells his
listeners that medical experts,
like Dr. Fauci, are Clinton sympathizers
who want to get rid of Trump.
Representative Matt Gaetz tweets out
a Washington Examiner article amplifying
the Obama-Wuhan connection story.
As the death toll rose in the U.S.,
Donald Trump blamed China and its people
while simultaneously
downplaying the coronavirus.
Even after scientists confirmed
that the virus was not man-made,
conspiracies continued
to expand exponentially.
- There we go.
- There you are.
I'm excited to meet you.
Excited to meet you.
My first movie stars I've ever met.
[LAUGHS]
- Yeah. We just hang out, man.
- Yeah?
So, I'm Jennifer.
Did they tell you anything about me?
- You're a doctor or something, right?
- NEWSWOMAN: I'm joined
by Dr. 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.
You know,
this pandemic's been so hard,
but the best thing, for me,
has been to meet people
that I wouldn't otherwise get to meet
- and to share what I know.
- JIM: Right.
And I think it's really
important for us to have
- conversations about tough issues
- Yes.
and share information.
Okay, let me ask you this, then.
The reason being, is it because
the Chinese mutated it?
So, we have no evidence
that that happened.
In fact, um, virologists
who have looked very closely
at the genetic sequence
of the virus have concluded
that it was, very likely,
not engineered by a human.
That it most likely originated from bats.
And whether it went directly
from bats to humans,
or if it went from bats to another animal,
we don't, uh, fully know yet.
Well, the scientist that, uh
the first lady that took
that out of the laboratory
died from it, so
Yeah, so let's, let's talk
about that a little bit.
- Um
- Okay.
Because I, I heard those stories, too,
and there's actually no evidence
that that happened.
There was, I know,
one woman who, um,
published a story alleging
a number of things
that have since been debunked
by, by actual scientists.
Um, the thing about these viruses,
these respiratory viruses,
they move fast,
and it's really hard
for any country to stop them
from spreading outside of their borders.
That's just how these things
are, and I just really worry
when we start pointing fingers
in the absence of evidence.
TRUMP: Some important developments
in our war against the Chinese virus.
I have to call it where it came
from. It did come from China.
So I think it's a very accurate term.
Kung flu.
- I can name
- [CROWD MURMURING]
19 different versions of names.
- The Chinese virus.
- [CROWD CHEERING]
WOMAN NEWS REPORTER: Why is this a
global competition to you
if every day Americans
are still losing their lives?
Well, they're losing their lives
everywhere in the world,
and maybe that's a question
you should ask China.
That China focus
really put blinders on us and our response.
Such that the virus could be
coming in from other places,
and we wouldn't have been able to detect it
and we weren't able to stop it.
And so, the huge surge
of cases in New York
wasn't due to an introduction
from China.
It was due to an introduction from Europe.
Conspiracy theories can often
have real consequences.
When Europe was hit
by the Bubonic Plague--
was in 1348 or '49--
this is blamed on Jews
allegedly poisoning the wells,
and there were horrific scenes
where Jews were burned alive
in the town squares,
but that kind of conspiracist
belief has continued
to, to the present day,
as we can see.
It's impossible to explain why on earth
the Chinese would want to do this,
given the fact that it had
a serious impact on their,
on their own country,
but that's a kind of bogeyman
that emerges at the center
of conspiracy theories.
Soon as that spreads and reaches
people who are racially
prejudiced against Chinese,
you get physical attacks.
NEWSWOMAN: Asian Americans are facing discrimination
not felt since the Japanese
American internment camps
during World War II.
Do you not think it would be
useful for, at this point,
for Donald Trump to say,
"You know what,
leave Asian Americans alone."
- Yes, I agree with that.
- That statement
- Do you not think he should be saying that?
- Yes.
That statement could be said
very clearly by anybody.
Yep, I agree with that.
But by, by, by Donald Trump,
who called it the "China virus."
The problem is that all
political sides pretend opinions
are facts and then use it to
achieve their aim because they
can't be bothered to actually
argue the point properly.
I have no doubt that,
if there weren't
so much misinformation
out there, we could have saved
tens of thousands to hundreds
of thousands of lives.
[♪♪♪]