Fact check: No, the World Economic Forum didn't order governments to ration water
The claim: The World Economic Forum ordered governments to start rationing water
An April 12 article from The People's Voice claims the World Economic Forum is restricting water consumption around the globe.
"‘Water is Not a Human Right’: WEF Orders Govt’s To Begin Rationing Water Into Homes," reads the article's headline.
The article was shared more than 1,000 times in two weeks, according to the social media analytics tool CrowdTangle.
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Our rating: False
There is no evidence the WEF ordered governments around the world to ration water sent to people's homes, nor that it declared water is not a human right. The article was published by a website that regularly publishes fabricated stories.
No evidence the WEF ordered global water rationing
The WEF is an international organization based in Switzerland that was created to engage "the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas," according to its website.
While the organization has published articles about access to drinking water, global freshwater scarcity and innovations in freshwater purification, there is no mention of mandatory water rationing anywhere on the organization's website.
"I can confirm that this is fake and made up," Yann Zopf, spokesman for the WEF, said in an email to USA TODAY. "The World Economic Forum never published such posts and never made such statements."
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. The WEF is a frequent subject of their baseless claims.
The WEF doesn't have the ability to mandate that governments ration water or other resources, Scott Moore, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, told USA TODAY in an email.
"The WEF is a nongovernmental organization and as such has no legal status to exercise the functions of sovereign states, though it can be influential in shaping the views of policymakers," Moore said.
Water policies are difficult to influence, Moore said, because they're "heavily regulated, exceptionally fragmented and generally very impervious to attempts to incorporate global or multilateral standards."
The article claims the WEF is working with the United Nations to impose water rationing and mentions the U.N. 2023 Water Conference in New York City.
But a quote in The People's Voice article lifted from a recent post about the conference on the WEF's website doesn't mention rationing water. There's no mention of water rationing elsewhere on the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals and Water Conference websites.
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The article also erroneously claims the WEF and other "global elites" recently declared water is "not a human right."
The article appears to misconstrue remarks made by Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, vice chairman of the WEF's Board of Trustees and former CEO of Nestle, in a 2005 documentary.
In the film, Brabeck-Letmathe spoke about water as a commodity and said the view that water is a human right was "extreme." Both Brabeck-Letmathe and Nestle have since released statements asserting he has "always supported the human right to water."
Regardless, Brabeck-Letmathe's interview does not reflect the positions of the WEF or U.N., which consider access to clean drinking water to be a human right.
USA TODAY reached out to The People's Voice for comment.
Our fact-check sources:
Yann Zopf, April 25, Email exchange with USA TODAY
KQED, June 15, 2017, Let’s Drink: Scenic Water Fountains and Why It’s Radical to Use Them
IMDB, 2005, We Feed the World
Nestlé, accessed April 25, Does Peter Brabeck-Letmathe believe that water is a human right?
Nestlé, April 18, 2013, Water Challenge - a blog by Peter Brabeck-Letmathe
Nestlé, Aug. 27, 2013, Nestlé's Peter Brabeck: Water is a Human Right
Scott Moore, April 25, Email exchange with USA TODAY
United Nations, accessed April 25, The human right to water and sanitation
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, accessed April 25, Goal 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, accessed April 25, UN 2023 Water Conference
World Economic Forum, accessed April 25, About: Our Mission
World Economic Forum, April 19, Billions still lack access to safe drinking water – this is a global human rights catastrophe
World Economic Forum, April 11, Scientists have invented a method to break down 'forever chemicals' in our drinking water. Here’s how
World Economic Forum, August 2, 2022, Facebook post
World Economic Forum, March 22, Global freshwater demand will exceed supply 40% by 2030, experts warn
World Economic Forum, March 16, What is the UN 2023 Water Conference and why is it so important? Two experts explain
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim WEF is ordering water rationing