Has Bill Gates publicly endorsed any specific diabetes treatments or technologies?
Executive summary
Bill Gates has publicly expressed support for GLP‑1 class drugs (used for type 2 diabetes and widely repurposed for weight loss) and said the Gates Foundation will explore ways to expand access and study their effects in lower‑income settings [1] [2]. He has not endorsed a consumer supplement or single branded “cure”; reporting shows deepfaked ads have falsely used his likeness to promote products such as “Gluco Delete Drops” and those endorsements are fake [3].
1. Gates has spoken favorably about GLP‑1 drugs and access, not singled‑out endorsements
In interviews and public comments Bill Gates has described GLP‑1 receptor agonists — drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro developed for diabetes and now used for weight loss — as promising medical innovations and said his foundation will “figure out how to make [effective drugs] super, super cheap so that it can get to everyone in the world,” including exploring clinical trials and access strategies for lower‑income countries [1] [2].
2. The Gates Foundation’s role is framed as research, access and affordability, not commercial promotion
Reporting makes clear the foundation’s stated activity is early‑stage research, data generation, and seeking ways to widen access — for example, studying effects on gestational diabetes and exploring affordability — rather than marketing or direct commercial endorsement of particular manufacturers [2] [4]. A Reuters correction emphasized the Foundation had not begun broad weight‑loss drug access programs, underlining a measured, investigatory posture [4].
3. Media coverage highlights policy and equity motives behind Gates’s comments
Gates framed the concern as global inequity: about 70% of the roughly one billion people with obesity live in low‑ and middle‑income countries that may struggle to pay for these expensive but effective treatments, and the Foundation’s interest is couched in that equity argument and in reducing downstream costs from diabetes and heart disease [2].
4. He has not publicly endorsed dubious supplements and has been a target of deepfakes
Consumer‑targeted “natural diabetes cure” products circulating online have used fabricated videos and celebrity deepfakes to claim Gates’s endorsement. Reporting explicitly states Bill Gates has never endorsed “Gluco Delete Drops” and that such claims are part of scams; these products are not FDA‑approved and have no credible scientific backing, according to the source [3].
5. Gates’s statements combine support for medical innovation with skepticism about behavior‑change alone
In public remarks he contrasted lifestyle interventions with pharmaceutical innovation, noting behavior change is difficult at scale and medical treatments will play a critical role — a position reported in press coverage and interviews [5] [6]. That frames his stance as pragmatically pro‑innovation rather than anti‑prevention.
6. What the sources do not show: no definitive personal prescriptions or endorsements of specific brand treatments
Available sources document Gates discussing drug classes and policy approaches, and the Foundation funding related research (including women’s health priorities tied to gestational diabetes) [7] [8]. They do not show him personally prescribing, formally endorsing, or financially promoting a named commercial product as a recommended treatment; available sources do not mention a personal, branded endorsement beyond class‑level advocacy [2] [1].
7. Competing perspectives and potential agendas to note
Journalists and public health actors interpret Gates’s comments two ways: as pragmatic advocacy for expanding access to effective biomedical tools (Reuters, Newsweek) and as a signal that wealthy philanthropies are prioritizing technologies that can be commercialized (Philanthropy commentary on philanthropic influence in the diabetes/weight‑loss market) [2] [1] [9]. Observers warn private funders’ priorities can shape research agendas, a point raised in analysis of philanthropic influence on global health [9] [10].
8. Bottom line for readers: factual takeaway and how to verify
Factually: Gates has publicly supported using and researching GLP‑1‑class drugs and exploring access solutions; he has not credibly endorsed miracle supplements, and deepfakes have been used to misattribute endorsements [1] [2] [3]. To verify future claims, consult primary reporting (Reuters/Newsweek) or direct Gates Foundation press releases and watch for corrections that clarify whether the Foundation is piloting access programs or only researching them [2] [7].