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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Does a video back up its claim that Dr. Anthony Fauci had a Nobel laureate chemist murdered to silence him?

By Dean Miller
NO

The claim is made in a headline on a video that offers no physical or documentary evidence and with one piece of circumstantial evidence that scarcely deserves that label. The four-minute, 18-second video never makes the murder claim outright. Instead, the narrator hints at it near the end.

Unchallenged obituaries for the chemist, Kary Mullis, say he died in 2019 of pneumonia at age 74.

There is no public record to suggest Mullis was murdered by anyone.

The video describes Mullis' harsh criticisms of Fauci's advocacy for treatment of HIV/AIDS with AZT, using clips taken from various recordings of Mullis, who developed a reputation as a provocative lecturer in his later years.

Mullis' invention of the DNA test now known as PCR made him a critic of Fauci's work in the battle against AIDS, which relied in part on DNA testing. 

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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