The World Economic Forum Did Not Report on the Omicron Variant in July
The Claim
The World Economic Forum reported on the Omicron variant in July 2021.
News posted on
Emerging story
According to social media users, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has been reporting on the COVID-19 Omicron variant since July 2021, much earlier than the South African government's announcement and the World Health Organization's confirmation.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulating information and discovered it to be false. Omicron variants were not mentioned in an archived version of the article that was originally published on July 12, 2021. A disclaimer on the date of first publication and the date the article was updated, 26 November, to include new information, is shown below in the article.
Online publications frequently update articles as new information emerges. Furthermore, the article contained links to other sources dated after July 2021, which could not have been possible if the article had not been updated at a later date. For example, this Reuters article from November 26 was linked by the WEF, indicating that the article had been updated to include the new variant. The WEF did not report on the variant in its July article.
