I find it strange that you’ve said this to one of the only comments that actually provided quotes of multiple articles that weren’t just opinion pieces. It’s also a bit odd that you’re “done with this platform” due to a relatively centrist position that mostly amounts to “it doesn’t seem like Bill Gates is James Bond Supervillain level evil.”
In fact, generally both the blue and red “teams” (of the US) kinda hate Gates, just for different reasons. Someone coming out, reading the article linked by the comment that they’re responding to, and then providing reasonable counter-evidence is actually a bit of a breath of fresh air compared to typical Reddit or Lemmy, or the internet in general for that matter.
And to be clear, I really don’t have a stake in the game here. I’m mildly interested to see whether Gates is as bad as others in this thread are saying, but coming into it I didn’t really have much of an opinion one way or the about the guy. Now, I’m just curious what has made you feel that the commenter you responded to couldn’t deliver what Reddit somehow did or does.
A few corrections:
400mg of caffeine is not considered a daily recommended maximum, but “an amount not generally associated with dangerous, negative effects” (FDA). Most people can consume more than that and have no significant side effects.
The Charged Lemonade has more caffeine than most any other drinks… When you fill up a 30 oz container with it and don’t add any ice. If you filled up the same container with an energy drink or coffee, it would have similar amounts of caffeine.
Aside from the possibility to associate “charged” with electrolytes, none of the marketing or branding of the drink implies that it’s an electrolyte drink. Personally I would much sooner think that charged means energy, i.e. caffeine and the like, but that’s just me.
A healthy adult consuming multiple of these beverages wouldn’t likely experience any heart issues, but likely would have things like jitteriness and have a hard time falling asleep. And while people with heart conditions should definitely stay away from these drinks, “would go into cardiac arrest after one” is incredibly overblown. If that were the case, the deaths would be in the hundreds or thousands, not one or two.
Panera has only “reduced” the caffeine amounts in the drink by adding ice into the cup because they are now behind the counter, not by changing the formula of the drink.