CLAIM: A “Bill Gates factory that produces lab-grown synthetic meat” burned down in the Netherlands.
THE FACTS: While a distribution center operated by a Dutch online grocery service was destroyed in a fire in the eastern Netherlands, the facility was not a factory that produced meat alternatives, nor was it owned or operated by Gates. As video spread widely online Monday of flames engulfing the building, false claims circulated misrepresenting the use of the facility and its connection to the billionaire philanthropist.
“Bill Gates factory that produces lab-grown synthetic meat burns down in the Netherlands,” read the caption on a video of the blaze that had been viewed more than 12,000 times on Facebook.
The facility that burned down on Sunday night was a distribution center operated by Picnic, a Dutch online grocery service that allows users to order groceries using a mobile app and have them delivered. The building was not a factory that produced meat alternatives, Martijn Koolhoven, a public relations official representing Picnic, told the AP in an email. The center that caught fire was used to load orders onto electric trucks for delivery. He said there was no production of any kind at the site “let alone of meat.”
Picnic in 2021 raised $600 million euros to expand its operations. A large portion of that funding came from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, Koolhoven said, adding that the trust was one investor among “many other existing shareholders.”
The trust, which invests and manages money, is separate from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic arm. The trust states on its website that its investment decisions are made by an outside team of managers.
“Foundation staff have no influence on Trust investment decisions, and no visibility into the Trust’s investment strategies,” according to an email statement from Cascade Investment, which oversees the Foundation Trust.
And while the trust acquired a minority stake in Picnic through its investment, it “is not a controlling shareholder,” Koolhoven clarified. The Sunday night fire completely destroyed the building, but no injuries were reported, according to a statement in Dutch from the local fire brigade.
The cause of the blaze was not yet known and was still being investigated. The fire service told the AP that there was currently no indication of arson. The false claims about the fire emerged amid ongoing protests among farmers in the Netherlands who are demonstrating against the government’s plans to slash livestock emissions.
Some protesters have blocked supermarket distribution centers, including separate ones operated by Picnic. Old, misrepresented photos and video purporting to show such demonstrations have also been shared and debunked in recent days.
— Associated Press writer Sophia Tulp in New York contributed this report.
