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FACT BRIEF

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

By Dean Miller
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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. 

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Los Angeles Times Kary Mullis, quirky Nobel laureate whose DNA discovery changed the science world, dies
New York Times Kary B. Mullis, 74, Dies; Found a Way to Analyze DNA and Won Nobel
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
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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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.