Bill Gates’ daughter has revealed that she has lost friends due to conspiracy theories about her billionaire father.

Phoebe Gates, 22, the youngest daughter of Bill and Melinda French Gates, made the shocking claim while discussing the spread of misinformation in the new Netflix docuseries “What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates,” which premiered Wednesday.

As the conversation continued between her and her father, the billionaire Microsoft co-founder asked his daughter if she had ever come across conspiracy theories about him – such as that the Covid pandemic was a ploy to allow Bill Gates to insert microchips into his vaccines that would allow him to track people.

“All the time,” Phoebe replied. “I even have friends who have cut off contact with me because of these vaccine rumors,” she said.

Phoebe Gates, 22, admitted she lost friends because of conspiracy theories about her father

The 22-year-old reproductive rights activist recently graduated from Stanford University with a degree in human biology and was invited to appear on her father’s show shortly before completing her final year of college.

She said at the time she was concerned about whether it would be possible to effectively communicate accurate health information as misinformation spread online.

“I need to learn more,” admitted her 68-year-old father, “because in my naivety I still believe that digital communication can be a force that brings us together and enables us to have a reasonable debate.”

But Phoebe said her father didn’t realize that people on social media didn’t care about facts and logic as much as finding an escape from everyday life.

A popular conspiracy theory says that the COVID pandemic was a ruse to give Bill Gates the opportunity to put microchips into vaccines that he can use to track people.

When Gates asked his daughter where she thought the conspiracy theories came from, she replied that they came from fear.

During the COVID lockdowns, she explained, no one knew who to trust or what to believe.

“The pandemic has definitely been a showcase for the worst of social media oversimplifying things,” Gates agreed.

The two also discussed women’s reproductive rights and gender equality – two issues that are very close to Phoebe’s heart.

Gates later admitted that the conversation with his daughter was his “favorite conversation” on the show

Gates later wrote that the conversation with his daughter was his “favorite conversation” on the show and called it “the highlight of the series.”

He wrote on his Gates Notes blog that Phoebe “showed me concrete examples of how bad actors use misinformation and disinformation to hinder progress.”

He said: “Phoebe helped me better understand how women online – especially women who advocate for other women – often face threats to their safety that are designed to make them think twice before speaking out.”

“I’m no stranger to people being mean to me online, but I have the luxury of (largely) ignoring what’s said about me,” the billionaire admitted.

“Phoebe explained how these threats can have a chilling effect on the women’s rights movement and shared some thoughtful ideas on how to make the internet safer for everyone.”