Did the genetically modified mosquitoes approved for release in Texas and Florida transmit malaria and are behind the newly reported cases in these states? No, that's not true: the genetically modified mosquitoes released in Florida and Texas are genetically modified to be unable to transmit the diseases.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published by Tiktok on June 29, 2023, under the title
They manufacture diseases, then say they cured them, and worry about preserving people's health
The video opens with three screenshots of news headlines from different media outlets in chronological order of publication:
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri Jun 30 14:09:22 2023 UTC)
The post claims to have uncovered a conspiracy by Bill Gates to develop and release millions of genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida and Texas in 2020, and that these mosquitoes are behind the first malaria cases diagnosed in Florida since the United States eradicated the disease decades ago. According to the post, the plot is to bring back the disease so BioNTech can produce and sell malaria vaccines.
The post uses an arbitrary timeline of selected news articles to make the events appear related. The post begins with news from August 2020 about the states of Florida and Texas approving the release of genetically modified male mosquitoes. These mosquitoes have been genetically modified to produce female offspring that die early in the life cycle and before they become adult female mosquitoes capable of carrying disease.
Then the post used news of BioNtech beginning trials of malaria vaccines in 2021 and a third news story from January 2023 reporting newly diagnosed malaria cases in Florida and Texas.
The claim does not explain how the released male mosquitoes are responsible for the new malaria cases. According to the CDC, these GM mosquitoes cannot carry diseases because they are all male mosquitoes, and only female mosquitoes feed on blood and, therefore, can transmit diseases. These male mosquitoes carry a gene that will make their female offspring die early in their life cycle. Only male mosquitoes will survive by passing their modified gene to more mosques, minimizing diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and controlling their population.
