Putin didn't call Klaus Schwab a 'terrorist.' Post fabricates comments from 2023 | Fact check

Joedy McCreary, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Putin called Klaus Schwab a ‘global terrorist’

A Feb. 8 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking at a lectern in a screenshotted post on X, formerly Twitter.

“World Economic Forum (WEF) founder Klaus Schwab is a globalist terrorist who is holding humanity to ransom,” the X post quotes Putin as saying. "Their New World Order has failed and their days are numbered."

The Instagram post was liked more than 1,000 times in a week. The original X post was shared thousands of times.

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Our rating: False

Putin did not call World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab a terrorist or even mention his name during the speech referenced in the post. The claim originated on a website known to publish misinformation.

Claim distorts statements Putin made during 2023 meeting

Public statements from Putin received increased attention in early February, when former Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed the Russian president Feb. 6 and posted the recording of it two days later. The Feb. 7 X post and the Instagram post from the following day appear to tap into that interest but refer instead to a public meeting four months earlier that included Putin.

But the claim is false. The Russian leader did not call Schwab a terrorist during that event and did not even mention the WEF founder’s name.

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A version of the supposed quote also appeared in the first paragraph of an Oct. 5, 2023, article published by The People’s Voice, a website that routinely publishes fabricated stories. The article claims Putin made the statement during his annual meeting with the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think tank and discussion group. The organization’s name appears on the lectern shown in the social media posts.

But Putin did not mention Schwab or the WEF at any point during his Oct. 5 meeting with the club, and he did not refer to anyone as a “global terrorist,” according to both the organization's transcript of his remarks and a transcript posted by the Russian presidential office. There are no credible reports from legitimate news outlets that Putin made such a statement. Instead, Putin has been complimentary of the organization in the past, describing the “importance and significant benefits” of the WEF after meeting with Schwab in 2019, according to an announcement from the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The People's Voice, previously known as NewsPunch, has a lengthy history of publishing fabricated stories, many of which have been debunked by USA TODAY. Global organizations like the WEF are regular subjects of its baseless claims, which include assertions that the organization demanded people be limited to no more than three cups of coffee per year and that it ordered governments to ration water.

USA TODAY reached out to The People’s Voice and to the Instagram and X users who shared the posts but did not immediately receive responses.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Putin didn't call WEF leader a 'global terrorist' | Fact check