Shiva Ayyadurai

V. A. Shiva Ayyadurai, born Vellayappa Ayyadurai Shiva on December 2, 1963, is a multifaceted American figure known for his roles as an engineer, entrepreneur, and anti-vaccine activist. Ayyadurai's academic credentials are impressive, holding four degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including a PhD in biological engineering, and he is a recipient of a Fulbright grant.

His claim to fame emerged in 2011 when he asserted that he invented email as a teenager, having registered a copyright for an email application he developed in August 1982. This assertion has been met with skepticism from historians, as email technology was already in use during the early 1970s. Ayyadurai's legal battles with Gawker Media and Techdirt over defamation regarding his email claims were settled out of court, allowing the articles to remain online with a link to his rebuttal.

Ayyadurai has also made headlines for his controversial reports on the working conditions of India's largest scientific agency and the safety of genetically modified foods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he became a prominent figure in spreading disinformation, promoting conspiracy theories about the virus's origins and advocating for unproven treatments, while also calling for the dismissal of Anthony Fauci.

In the political arena, Ayyadurai ran as an independent candidate in the 2018 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, securing three point thirty-nine percent of the vote. He later sought the Republican nomination in the 2020 Senate race but lost in the primary. Following the election, he propagated unfounded claims of election fraud. In 2024, he announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States, although his status as a non-natural-born citizen renders him ineligible for the office.