A photographer takes a picture at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2024. The not-for-profit organization's mission is to promote public-private co-operation on various issues, but it has long been the target of conspiracy theories and disinformation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Markus Schreiber
A photographer takes a picture at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2024. The not-for-profit organization's mission is to promote public-private co-operation on various issues, but it has long been the target of conspiracy theories and disinformation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Markus Schreiber
A viral social media video posted on July 7 by a known fake news website claims "LGBTQ+ leaders" are accepting pedophiles and that the World Economic Forum (WEF) has said criticizing pedophiles is "hate speech." This is false. No politicians or LGBTQ+ community leaders have signed any treaty to protect pedophiles and the WEF has not called criticizing pedophiles "hate speech."
A posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, was made to look like a news report, with the presenter claiming that "LGBTQ+ leaders are officially recognizing pedophiles as part of the club." The presenter, the People's Voice co-founder Sean Adl-Tabatabai, continues to claim the WEF has pressured world leaders to "accept minor-attracted persons as legally protected minority."
"LGBTQ+ Leaders sign WEF treaty to accept pedophiles as 'legally protected minority,'" the that accompanied the video reads.
X owner of the claim, wrote "Is this real?" and tagged @CommunityNotes, the X platform's crowdsourced fact-checking program.
As of July 18, the X post had 920,000 views, 7,100 shares and 7,500 likes.
Rating: False
Claims that LGBTQ+ community members, and politicians who support them, tolerate pedophiles, as well as claims that the WEF is pushing for protections for pedophiles, are not new and have been debunked before.
The video was produced by the People's Voice, also known as TPV, which is an American website known for posting fake news and conspiracy theories. , according to , and was rebranded as NewsPunch before changing its name again to the People's Voice.
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø has previously debunked claims posted by the People's Voice.
The video provides no evidence for its claims and a keyword search of the found no mention of a combination of "hate speech" and "pedophile" or "minor-attracted person."
A screenshot in the video of what appears to be an X post from the WEF reading "Denying pedophiles their right to a sexual orientation is hateful" is fabricated. No such post exists on the page.
There is no evidence of a treaty signed by any politicians or LGBTQ+ community leaders to "accept pedophiles" as "legally protected minority," and the video doesn't provide evidence or details to support the claim and doesn't mention the treaty after the video’s first 20 seconds.
is a not-for-profit organization that promotes public-private co-operation on various issues, but it's not known for signing treaties with other international organizations or governments.
A community note on the X post says "It's fake news," and links to a fact check by The Associated Press on a similar claim that surfaced by the same website in January 2023.
In the fact check titled AP concluded the WEF has not called for the decriminalization of sex with children, and quoted a spokesperson for the WEF saying the website's story and claims were “completely made up.â€
Other fact checkers have debunked previous claims that attempted to link LGBTQ+ groups with pedophiles, including that LGBTQ+ groups are adding a and that the represent pedophiles.
A disclaimer under the , which now identifies its corporate name as "Fact Checked Limited," states that its content may not be accurate or reliable.
“Fact Checked Limited and/or its suppliers make 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 disclaimer states.
You can find out more about ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø here and about ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Press Fact Checks here. To reach our fact-checking team with any tips, corrections or comments, please email us at cpfactcheck@thecanadianpress.com.
