Dr. Bharat Pankhania is not the CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

By: Rajini KG
May 5 2023

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Context

On April 28, a Facebook user known for spreading misinformation and with a follower count of 66,447 shared a post alleging that Dr. Bharat Pankhania, a recent guest on GB News, is the CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The user shared a screengrab of the GB News broadcast with host Lawrence Fox and another screengrab purportedly showing Google search results of Dr. Pankhania's LinkedIn profile: "Post de Dr. Bharat Pankhania, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Working to ensure everyone can live a healthy life & reach their full potential." The post was captioned, "Did you ever wonder why Dr Bharat was so Pro everything, well now you know! (sic)" The post has garnered over 206 likes.

The post was shared days after Laurence Fox spoke to Dr. Bharat Pankhania on a GB News broadcast aired on April 20, 2023. Dr. Pankhania discussed the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) approval for COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine safety. He spoke to support COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy and called out Fox for spreading misinformation and "biased views." The claims that he is associated with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation surfaced shortly after.

However, this claim is false. The screengrab, which purportedly shows Dr. Bharat Pankhania's Linkedin bio, has been manipulated.

In Fact

Logically Facts contacted Dr. Bharat Pankhania for clarification. He replied, "I have nothing to do with any vaccines supplier or bill or anyone. No one pays me."

Logically Facts accessed the original LinkedIn page of Dr. Pankhania. It states that he currently works at the University of Exeter as a senior clinical lecturer in its medical school. His LinkedIn profile does not include any of the words seen in the post. There is no mention of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Logically Facts researched the phrase "Post de Dr. Bharat Pankhania" mentioned in the screengrab. The first result has the same headline, but the bio reads "Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Exeter Medical School." The result redirected to Pankhania's original LinkedIn page.

The University of Exeter Medical School website also shows that he is a senior clinical lecturer. Therefore, it confirms that the screengrab from the post in question has been digitally manipulated.

Mark Suzman is the CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Joe Cerrell, managing director for Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia (EMEA), oversees operations in the U.K., Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's official website reads. On investigating, we found that Mark Suzman's LinkedIn profile contains the exact text as the post. Therefore, this shows that the link to Suzman's LinkedIn profile has been edited under Dr. Pankhania's name.

The Verdict

Mark Suzman is the CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, not Dr. Bharat Pankhania. Dr. Pankhania also told Logically Facts that he is not associated with the foundation. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.