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Phoebe Gates, the youngest daughter of Microsoft co-founderBill Gatesand philanthropistMelinda French Gates, is opening up about her use of social media — including “misconceptions and conspiracy theories” that she sees about her family online.
In an email interview withThe Informationpublished on Friday, the 20-year-old Stanford University student, who has nearly 65,000 followers on TikTok, said that social media is a great way to “tell my own story.”
“People have a lot of preconceptions about me, so TikTok has been a chance for me to tell my own story and also use the attention my family name might bring to spotlight issues that are important to me, like women’s health and sustainable fashion,” said Phoebe, who recently posted an essay about thefight for reproductive rights.
And while it may be her family’s name that initially brings attention to her profile, many people “stick around” because of the causes she supports, she said in the interview, whichInsideralso highlighted.
Phoebe regularly posts TikTok videos with her parents, including a video of her dad playing “boxball,” which has been viewed over 8 million times since December. “People probably find it funny to see my dad being a goof,” she told The Information.
In February, she shared a clip of a “contraceptive talk” with her mother, and has documented some sweet mother-daughter moments too, includingspending time together in Londonover the summer when Phoebehad an internship atBritish Vogue.
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However, while there are positives to having a platform, Gates told the Information that social media is rife with “misconceptions and conspiracy theories about my family and my relationship with my boyfriend.”
In one of her most recent posts with her boyfriend, Gates documented their trip to thethe People’s Choice Awardsback in December. “Incredible night,” she captioned the post.
Although Phoebe says that social media is fun, she has her sights on growing another empire for herself.
Phoebe told The Information that she’s working on an idea for a startup, called Phia, with her roommate, climate activist Sophia Kianni. “We’re building out an idea to help make fashion more sustainable. We have so much planned for this year,” she teased, without going into much detail about the project.
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This has also been a big year for Phoebe’s older sister,Jennifer Gates, who announced over the weekend that she and husbandNayel Nassarhavewelcomed their first child.
Melinda was one of many who celebrated the happy news, writing, “Welcome to the world. My heart overflows.”
source: people.com
