The WEF’s chairman is still alive and well, despite claims online
Klaus Schwab, chairman of the World Economic Forum, attends the opening of the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Social media users are falsely claiming that Schwab was recently hospitalized and might be dead. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
CLAIM: World Economic Forum executive chairman Klaus Schwab was recently admitted to the hospital in serious condition and might have died.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Posts making these allegations began spreading widely after a website that says it publishes “satire, and comedic opinion pieces and editorials” posted an article about Schwab’s supposed hospitalization. A WEF spokesperson told The Associated Press that the claims are untrue.
THE FACTS: Social media users are spreading baseless rumors about Schwab’s health.
“BREAKING: Klaus Schwab was apparently admitted to the hospital seriously ill,” reads one X post that had received approximately 25,000 likes and 8,800 shares as of Monday. “Anyway, that doesn’t BUG me.”
The word “bug” appears to be emphasized in reference to another false claim, that the WEF wants to replace meat with bugs.
Other posts go a step further, stating that Schwab “may be dead.”
But the WEF founder is not deathly ill or worse, according to Yann Zopf, a spokesperson for the organization.
“These claims are entirely baseless and unfounded,” he wrote in an email to the AP. “Professor Schwab’s health is excellent. Like many high-profile individuals and organizations, he and the World Economic Forum have been targeted by conspiracy narratives, as well as misinformation and disinformation campaigns.”
The recent allegations began spreading widely after a website called the Weekly Crier on Sunday published an article titled, “World Economic Forum Founder Klaus Schwab Hospitalized.” Weekly Crier says on its About Us page that in addition to “reliable and unbiased news and information,” it posts “satire, and comedic opinion pieces and editorials.”
The article on Schwab does not cite any sources, saying only that he was “reportedly admitted to the hospital late last night” and that other details “have not been officially disclosed.” It adds that “the WEF community, meanwhile, has been relatively quiet on the matter.”
Weekly Crier did not respond to a request for comment.
___
This is part of the AP’s effort to address widely shared false and misleading information that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
