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| - FACT CHECK: Did The WEF Officially Declare Bird Flu An ‘International Pandemic?’
A screenshot of an article shared on Facebook purports the World Economic Forum (WEF) has officially declared bird flu an “international pandemic.”
Verdict: False
The claim is false and originally stems from a July 11 article published on “The People’s Voice,” a website that is known for spreading “fake news.”
Fact Check:
A sixth case of bird flu was recently identified in Colorado, according to CNN, citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All six cases have impacted poultry workers who are believed to have caught the virus by working with infected birds, the outlet reported.
The screenshot of the article shared via the Facebook post purports the WEF has officially declared bird flu an “international pandemic.” “WEF Officially Declares Bird Flu an ‘International Pandemic,'” the article’s headline reads.
“BREAKING: The World Economic Forum has officially declared Bird Flu an ‘International Pandemic,’ and has ordered Governments to begin culling BILLIONS of chickens,” the post’s caption begins. “They’re literally trying to starve us all to Death. Do NOT comply with their demands under ANY circumstances,” it continues.
The claim is false and originally stems from a July 11 article published on “The People’s Voice,” a website that is known for spreading “fake news.” A “Liability Disclaimer” included on the site’s “Terms of Use” page indicates it “makes no representations about the suitability, reliability, availability, timeliness, and accuracy of the information, software, products, services and related graphics contained on the site for any purpose.”
The site, which has previously been known as “NewsPunch” and “YourNewsWire,” is described as “one of the most well-known purveyors of fake news online,” according to a 2019 article from Mashable. (RELATED: Did The WHO Warn That Upcoming Elections Must Be Canceled Due To Bird Flu Outbreak?)
Although the article does mention measures taken in the state of Colorado and abroad in Finland to prevent potential outbreaks, it does not state that the WEF has officially declared bird flu an “international pandemic.” Likewise, the WEF has neither referenced the claim on its website nor its verified social media accounts.
In addition, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. Actually, the opposite is true. On July 23, Reuters reported the claim was false.
Yann Zopf, a spokesperson for the WEF, denied the claim’s validity in an email to the outlet.
“These claims are completely made up. The World Economic Forum has never made any statement of this kind,” Zopf said, according to Reuters.
The WEF shared the same statement it had provided to Reuters with Check Your Fact when contacted for comment.
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