False: World Economic Forum wants America to implement 'one-child policy' for white families.

By: Umme Kulsum
March 21 2023

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Context:

A screenshot of a purported tweet by the World Economic Forum (WEF) allegedly pushing for a decrease in population in America has been widely shared on social media platforms. The alleged tweet read, "America must decrease its Caucasian population," This purported tweet was shared on Facebook as part of an image that also included the text "WEF says Us must Implement One-Child Policy For White Families…." The image also included a photo of WEF founder Klaus Schwab. The claim about WEF advocating population control measures like the 'one-child' policy for white families was first published on March 9, 2023, in an article by NewsPunch—a website known for spreading misinformation. The People's Voice—NewsPunch's sister outlet—also made a video claiming that the WEF wants the U.S. to implement the one-chid policy for white families and uploaded it on video-sharing platforms Rumble and BitChute. 

In Fact:

Logically found no announcement, statement, or press release on the WEF's official website advocating for implementing the one-child policy or any other drastic population control measures for any community in America.

In an email, a WEF representative told Logically the tweet being attributed to the organization is fake and that WEF never made such a statement.

Moreover, a detailed keyword search on Twitter yielded no results for a tweet encouraging a "decrease in Caucasian (an obsolete term sometimes used in the U.S. for people with white or light-color skin) population" ever made by the WEF's official account. There is also no other record of WEF tweeting the said text.

Additionally, a closer look at the supposed WEF tweet included in the Facebook photo indicates that the tweet's image was most likely morphed. The tweet has an unusual extra space between the tweet's text and the Twitter handle. The blue tick next to the handle also looks slightly out of place. The tweet screenshot also does not include the time or date when it was posted. 

It is also important to note that NewsPunch has been classified as a "Questionable Source" by website rating site Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC), which also observed that NewsPunch "has zero credibility due to the routine publishing of fake news." Logically has, on many previous accounts, debunked disinformation and misinformation from NewsPunch, including fake tweets attributed to the WEF.

A look through recent official documents also shows that the U.S. government has not announced any plan to impose any population control measures that could limit the number of children citizens or couples in the country can have.

The one-child policy was a population-control initiative primarily implemented only in China in 1980, under which couples with more than one child were fined or often forced to undergo abortions. However, in late 2015, Chinese officials announced that the country's one-child policy would be repealed, allowing all couples to have two children without retribution. Since 2021, China has allowed all married couples to have up to three children.

Verdict:

A fabricated tweet has been wrongly attributed to the World Economic Forum (WEF) to claim that it is pushing for white American families to have just one child. WEF has never made such an announcement. Therefore, we mark this claim false.

This fact check was updated on March 23, 2023, to include WEF's response to Logically.