Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Aaron Rodgers Slammed After Spouting Bonkers Conspiracy That Fauci Created HIV In The '80s

Aaron Rodgers; Dr. Anthony Fauci
Look Into It with Eddie Bravo, Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Haddad Media

The NFL star is under fire after he claimed on a podcast in March that Dr. Anthony Fauci created the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s with the help of the U.S. government, and used it as the blueprint for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Embattled NFL star Aaron Rodgers went after Dr. Anthony Fauci and falsely accused the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of being responsible for engineering the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the 1980s.

Rodgers controversially opted not to get vaccinated against COVID-19, publicly rejected NFL pandemic safety measures, and disseminated disinformation about the virus.


On a March episode of the Look Into It with Eddie Bravo podcast, Rodgers suggested that the federal government and Fauci collaborated on unleashing HIV/AIDS upon the world.

The New York Jets quarterback said:

"Create a pandemic, you know, with a virus that's going wild, right?"

He continued to claim without evidence:

"The blueprint, the game plan, was made in the '80s. Create a pandemic with a virus that’s going wild,"
"Fauci was given over $350 million to research this, to come up with drugs–new or repurposed–to handle the AIDS pandemic."
"And all they came up with AZ—was AZT."

While we don't know where Rodgers got his information from, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that HIV infection in humans came from "a type of chimpanzee in Central Africa."

Studies showed that HIV "may have jumped from chimpanzees to humans as far back as the late 1800s."

You can hear Rodgers' wild claim here.


He continued to admit he was no expert on the subject but said he was determined to "look things up" without citing any sources.

"And if you do even a smidge of research, and I know, I'm not an epidemiologist, I'm not a doctor, I'm not an immunologist, whatever the f'k...I can read, though," he said.

"And I can learn and look things up just like any normal person, you know."
"I can do my own research, which is so vilified, to even question authority."

Rodgers also suggested Fauci's handling of the HIV/AIDS epidemic paved the way for the US government's poor response to COVID-19.

He added:

"But that was the game plan back then. Create an environment where only one thing works. Back then AZT; now, Remdesivir until we get a vaccine."

Remdesivir is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication that prevents the virus that causes Covid-19 from growing in the body.

"By the way, we know Fauci had [a] stake in the Moderna vaccine and we know Pfizer is one of the most criminally corrupt ever, the fine they paid was the biggest in the history of the [Department of Justice] in 2009," he said.

"What are we talking about? We’re going to put our full trust in science that can’t be questioned?"

Fauci's alleged link to Moderna has not been substantiated.

Interestingly, the fake theory was also shared by Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who considered Rodgers to be his VP.

Social media users face-palmed at Rodgers' uninfomed rant.


One user referenced Rodgers' use of the livestock dewormer drug Ivermectin for COVID-19, which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) never authorized for treating or preventing COVID-19.

People were not buying what he was selling.







This is just another in a list of bizarro conspiracy theories we've come to expect from Rodgers.

More from Trending

Miriam Margolyes
David Levenson/Getty Images

'Harry Potter' Star Miriam Margolyes Offers Mic Drop Explanation For Why Respecting Pronouns Matters

Sometimes it is just that easy to make people happy. This is a lesson learned over and over in our lives, but that's because it's an important one.

Actor Miriam Margolyes shared how she learned to change her behavior to make others happier. Margolyes appeared on The Graham Norton Show recently and brought up a fairly polarizing subject in the United Kingdom: trans people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk looks on during a public appearance, as the billionaire once again turns a newsroom style decision into a culture-war grievance broadcast to millions on X.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk Cries Racism After Associated Press Explains Why They Capitalize 'Black' But Not 'White'

Elon Musk has spent the year picking fights, from health research funding to imagined productivity crises among federal workers and whether DOGE accomplished anything at all besides leaving chaos in its wake.

His latest grievance, however, is thinly disguised as grammatical. Specifically, he is once again furious that the Associated Press (AP) capitalizes “Black” while keeping “white” lowercase.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk; Yale University School of Engineering and Applied Science
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images; Plexi Images/GHI/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Elon Musk Gets Brutal Wakeup Call After Claiming That Yale's Lack Of Republican Faculty Is 'Outrageous Bigotry'

Elon Musk—who has repeatedly whined about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)—took to his social media platform to whine about a lack of conservative faculty at Yale University.

Musk shared data compiled by The Buckley Institute (TBI), a conservative-leaning organization founded at Yale in 2010. TBI found 82.3% of faculty self-identified as Democrats or primarily supporting Democratic candidates, 15% identified as independents, while only 2.3% identified as Republicans.

Keep ReadingShow less
Barry Manilow
Mat Hayward/Getty Images

Barry Manilow Speaks Out After Postponing Farewell Tour Dates Due To Lung Cancer Scare

"Looks Like We Made It" singer Barry Manilow is in the process of saying goodbye to the stage and meeting his fans in-person, but he has to press pause for a few months after receiving a jarring diagnosis.

On December 22, 2025, the "Mandy" singer posted on Facebook, explaining that a "cancerous spot" had been discovered on his left lung.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame, the last time audiences saw Captain America before his unexpected return was teased for Avengers: Doomsday.
Disney/Marvel Studios

Marvel Just Confirmed That Chris Evans Is Returning For 'Avengers: Doomsday'—And Fans Have Mixed Feelings

Folks, once again, continuity is more of a suggestion than a rule in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel has officially confirmed that Chris Evans is returning as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, and the internet has responded exactly how you’d expect: screaming, celebrating, arguing, and a very justified side-eye toward how Sam Wilson keeps getting treated.

The confirmation comes via a teaser now playing exclusively in theaters ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash. There is no official online release, despite leaks circulating. If you didn’t catch it on the big screen, Marvel’s response is essentially: sorry, guess you had to be there.

Keep ReadingShow less