Jimmy Kimmel confronts conspiracy theorist who claims magnets attach to injection site of Covid vaccine

Talk-show host asks: ‘What makes these people think anyone is interested enough in them to track them?’

(Jimmy Kimmel Live!)

Jimmy Kimmel has used his show to amusingly confront a man who seemingly believes that he now has a microchip in his arm after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

The talk-show host addressed the “new line of lunacy from anti-vaxx nation called the magnet challenge” on Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! where he explained that some individuals who claim to have received the vaccine also claim that magnets now stick to their arms at the location of the injection.

“This is a number of thick-armed conspiracy theorists who have taken to social media to claim that since they got vaccinated, their arm now has magnetic properties … presumably because of the microchip that was implanted when they got the shot,” Kimmel told viewers.

The 53-year-old then showed a series of clips featuring individuals who believe in the conspiracy, including of one man named Robert, who tested the theory using magnets, a stud finder, and a compass.

After sharing the clips, Kimmel then revealed that he noticed that the man in question was watching Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the background as he conducted his experiments, prompting the talk-show host to share a message directly to the conspiracy theorist.

“So I’m watching this guy, whose name by the way is Robert, and in one of the clips he posted, in the background you can hear our show, he’s watching our show, while doing these experiments,” Kimmel said, adding: “Robert, if you’re watching right now, first of all, I want you to know I’m also watching you.”

“I’ve been watching you for years now Robert,” Kimmel continued, as he moved closer to the camera. “I see everything you do. I put those magnets not only in your arms, your whole body is filled with them, from your ears all the way down to your feet, and when the time is right, I will summon you.

Kimmel then joked that, when he “summons” Robert he will be “lifted up to our home planet,” which he added is named “Covack-19,” a reference to the man’s pronunciation of Covid-19.

Still speaking directly to the man, Kimmel added that, once they arrive on the imaginary planet, they will “live out our days magnetised to each other”.

“Well, if he wasn’t out of his mind before, he definitely is now,” Kimmel concluded.

The “magnet challenge” that is making its way around social media is the latest conspiracy theory to stem from the incorrect belief that the Covid-19 vaccine is being used to implant microchips for global surveillance, which many claim is linked to philanthropist Bill Gates.

While the conspiracy theory has no basis in fact, Kimmel also noted during his show: “What makes these people think anyone is interested enough in them to track them?”