Fact Check: Covid conspiracists say leaders have admitted virus was “test”

After a summer wave of infections, most of the United States is starting to see a decline in cases. However, it hasn’t stopped conspiracy theorists from sharing more fantastical claims about the disease.

Since the beginning of April, a group of highly infectious spinoffs of the Omicron variant have risen to prominence across the U.S. Nicknamed “FLiRT” subvariants due to the positions of the specific mutations in their spike proteins, this new class of viruses now accounts for more than 80 percent of infections in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Recent testing data from the CDC shows a recent decline in illness, although the results aren’t uniform across the country.

Despite the overall decline from the summer surge, persistent online theorists claim the real threat is global leaders who have openly boasted that the pandemic showed the general public can be easily manipulated.

The Claim

A post on X, formerly Twitter, by user @GeneralMCNews, posted on September 8, 2024, viewed 1.6 million times, said: “BREAKING: The World Economic Forum has admitted that the COVID-19 pandemic served as a test of the public’s willingness to comply with their ‘New World Order.'”

The post included a screengrab that appeared to be from a World Economic Forum (WEF) statement that said, “There have been significant developments in last five to seven years on social, environment and technology fronts that could help realise “My Carbon” initiatives for shaping the future towards smart and sustainable cities.

“Specifically, to mention three developments in this context:

“1.COVID-19 was the test of social responsibility – A huge number of unimaginable restrictions for public health were adopted by billions of citizens across the world. There were numerous examples globally of maintaining social distancing, wearing
masks, mass vaccinations and acceptance of contact-tracing applications for public health, which demonstrated the core of individual social responsibility.”

The Facts

This social media post borrowed content completely out of context to make its point. The WEF does not suggest that the pandemic proved that people could be manipulated however leaders see fit.

The WEF article the post used was published almost two years ago, so it is not “breaking” news.

The article, published on September 14, 2022, was an opinion piece about reducing carbon emissions in urban environments. It mentioned social and technology trends that demonstrated potential toward meeting that goal. To that end, the heading “COVID-19 was the test of social responsibility” referred to how citizens during the pandemic showed they could work together efficiently for the common good.

This is clear from the article but has been misused in an attempt to persuade others of something more sinister.

The article also mentioned other helpful trends and breakthroughs, such as technologies such as AI and blockchain and the growth in environmental health awareness.

Conspiracy theorists have long attempted to tie baseless claims about secret governments to the concerted global effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The World Economic Forum has been a target of these efforts, most notably misrepresenting initiatives and texts published in the wake of the pandemic commonly labeled the “Great Reset.”

The Ruling

False.

The content behind this claim has been taken wildly out of context.

This quote was taken from a 2022 WEF opinion piece about reducing carbon emissions in urban environments. The piece mentioned that the pandemic had shown how people could unite effectively for the common good, but this did not mean that the WEF thought people could be manipulated.

The article mentioned social cohesion as one of several examples the author gave of how society could help reduce carbon emissions, including through technologies such as AI and blockchain.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Check team