AAP FACTCHECK – A website with a history of spreading misinformation claims the World Economic Forum (WEF) has ordered governments to arrest all climate change deniers.
The claim is false. The man said to have issued the “order” is a British meteorology consultant who told AAP FactCheck he has no links with the WEF, a global economic forum and think tank.
He also didn’t make any order or call for the arrest of all climate change deniers.
What he did say is that it should be illegal to promote climate denial in the media.
The false claim appears in an article published by The People’s Voice, a prolific publisher of viral misinformation and fake clickbait news stories.
People on Facebook have been sharing the link to the article.
AAP FactCheck has previously debunked numerous claims published by the website.
The WEF is also a common target for conspiracy theorists, who claim the forum is part of a global plot to disempower citizens via various nefarious means.
The article in question is headlined: “WEF Orders Govt’s To Arrest Citizens Who Oppose Man-Made Climate Change Narrative.”
It describes how environmentalist Jim Dale said it should be illegal for people to “promote” climate change denialism during a TV segment aired on GB News on May 12.
Mr Dale tells AAP FactCheck that the claim he spoke on behalf of the WEF is “totally false”.
The former military meteorologist and founder of meteorology consultancy British Weather Services says he’s not employed by the WEF and has no formal links to the organisation.
The WEF website does not include any reference to anybody called Jim Dale.
The People’s Voice article did not explain how or why it believed Mr Dale was associated with the WEF.
During the TV interview, Mr Dale did not call for arrests either; he said promoting climate denialism should be banned in the mainstream media.
“Denial is factually wrong,” the social commentator says (1 minute, 36 seconds).
“It pollutes the political discourse.”
The deceptive article claimed Mr Dale’s argument amounted to saying that all climate deniers should be jailed.
However, the meteorology consultant clarified in the interview that he is not advocating for people to be arrested for their private climate change views.
“You can continue to have your denial to yourself, to your family, in the front room. Nobody is going to bash the door down and arrest you,” Mr Dale says (06:56).
“I’m talking about in the public domain.”
The Verdict
The claim that the WEF has ordered governments to arrest all climate change deniers is false.
The person said to have issued the “order” is a British meteorology consultant named Jim Dale, who is not associated with the WEF.
Mr Dale also said it should be illegal to promote climate change denialism in the media, but he did not say all climate change deniers should be arrested.
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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