Fact check: Were Bill Gates and Dr. Anthony Fauci roommates in college?

Origin

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a number of hoaxes which often do not hold any connection with reality. One of the most common connection conspiracy theorists draw on the internet surrounding the pandemic is that Microsoft's co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates is the reason behind it. Though there is no evidence that can support the claim that Gates is responsible for the pandemic, conspiracy enthusiasts think the opposite and come up with bizarre theories which claim to be concrete evidence to back their beliefs, but often get disregarded with an easy fact check. One such bizarre claim has now started doing the rounds on the internet. 

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Claim 

A message being circulated online recently claims that Anthony Fauci, who is a Cornell graduate, was roommates with Bill Gates during college. The message predominantly revolves around the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 which has reached the phase 3 trials of testing, claiming that Anthony Fauci was the first CEO of the company, thus having ties with Bill Gates furthermore. Moderna is an American biotechnology company that focusses on drug developments. Check out the viral message below - 

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Were Bill Gates and Fauci roommates?

To get one claim out of hand, Dr. Anthony Fauci has been the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The immunologist and physician has never been the CEO of the Moderna company. Fauci has been a part of the NIAID since 1984, whereas Moderna was founded in 2010. Fauci has graduated from the Cornell University Medical College back in 1966, thus having no educational connection with Bill Gates, who attended the Harvard College before dropping out in the mid-1970s. Before attending Cornell University, Fauci studied at the College of Holy Cross in Massachusetts, a college having no connection with Bill Gates either. 

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Google Trends Analysis

As the viral message claiming Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates were roommates started doing rounds on the internet, people took to Google and searched to verify it. This resulted in a surge of search results based on the same topic. Check out Google Trends analysis for 'Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates' roommates below -

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