Video altered to show man using vulgarities during World Economic Forum speech | Fact check

Joedy McCreary, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Video shows profanity-laced rant by World Economic Forum speaker

A Jan. 17 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) appears to show a World Economic Forum speaker on stage using profanity to berate Klaus Schwab, the organization's founder, and others in attendance.

It then shows Schwab and Swiss President Viola Amherd walking off the stage, followed by an abrupt cut to a title card that states, “Connection Lost.”

The post was liked more than 1,000 times in less than a day.

Fact check roundup: What's true and false about the World Economic Forum

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Our rating: Altered

The video is a fabrication. It was originally posted by a satirist in Denmark who labeled it as satire, but the version posted to Instagram has no such disclaimer.

No profane outbursts occurred during WEF annual meeting

The WEF brings together leaders from politics, business and culture to discuss global challenges. The organization began its five-day annual meeting on Jan. 15 in Davos, Switzerland, with a roster of speakers including French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.

But that roster does not include the man using the profanities in the video, who is identified in the Instagram video as Damon Imani.

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The viral clip appears to use footage from a welcome presentation at the WEF annual meeting with Schwab and Amherd, but the original footage of the presentation livestreamed by the WEF does not contain any expletive-laced outburst. The presentation shows Schwab and Amherd on stage and later walking off stage at the end of the event.

The Instagram video includes the social media handle of Imani, a content creator who posted the same altered clip to various social media platforms Jan. 16. The caption of his Instagram post describes the video as "satire but true." But there is no such disclaimer included in the Jan. 17 Instagram video.

The Instagram post is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where videos created as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.

Imani’s website describes him as a Denmark-based producer, artist and content creator who is “known for his satirical approach.”

Other videos fabricated by Imani have been misrepresented as authentic in the past. Among those previously debunked by USA TODAY are those purporting to show a man interrupting former Republican presidential candidate Will Hurd on “The View” and President Joe Biden falling asleep during a television interview.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Viral video of man cursing at Klaus Schwab is fabricated | Fact check