Pope Francis Has not Called for Euthanasia to Fight Climate Change
The Claim
Pope Francis is calling to euthanize people with autism, alcoholism, and other minor illnesses and disabilities to help humanity fight climate change, in support of the World Economic Forum campaign.
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Emerging story
Social media users and some news websites shared posts about Pope Francis claiming that he supports the World Economic Forum campaign to fight climate change by reducing the world population.
The posts claimed that Pope Francis sees the world population as the existential problem of climate change and the solution lies in euthanizing autistic, alcoholic, and disabled people.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the widely shared claim and found it to be fake.
Pope Francis has not made a statement mentioning climate change since July 23 at the Vatican. The Vatican shared the whole speech in which he did not mention the euthanasia of anybody but called the leaders to act immediately against polluting emissions.
Pope Francis is also known for his concern for the climatic changes. In his landmark speech in 2015, Francis said that the planet looks like an immense pile of filth, calling the world to protect the environment and ditch fossil fuels.
Pope Francis is Opposed to The Concept of Euthanasia
In fact, Pope Francis has always been opposed to the concept of euthanasia. He criticized Portugal euthanasia law describing it as “an easy access to death but in reality more bitter than the sea”. He opposed the euthanasia law in his country too and urged French politicians not to impose it on the patients.
World Economic Forum Did not Run a Campaign For Euthanasia
Misbar found that the World Economic Forum did not run any campaign or called for the euthanasia of anybody.
These false claims are not novel to the WEF.
The World Economic Forum has Always Been a Subject of Fake Claims
Although the WEF is known for its achievements, conspiracy theories and fake claims have long haunted it since its establishment. A related fake claim to euthanasia was in December 2022, when social media users had widely shared posts claiming that the WEF is calling for killing cats and dogs in an attempt to reduce the carbon footprint. The claim was soon found to be fake.
Such fake claims have never stopped despite the fact that the world is in an increasingly keen need for a party that tries to find a solution to the global challenges we face.
What Is The World Economic Forum?
The WEF is an independent international organization that aims to drive changes across the economic and industrial sectors along with finding solutions to the global issues. It was founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a German engineer.
The WEF aims to make positive change to the world by engaging wealth-holders, innovators, and leaders to shape significant changes to global and regional industry.
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