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Despite video’s claims, neither World Economic Forum nor UN ordered governments to ration water
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- There is no evidence that the World Economic Forum and the United Nations ordered governments to ration water.
A TikTok video made the alarming claim that two global organizations of "elites" had ordered governments worldwide to ration water.
"The World Economic Forum is teaming up with the U.N. to set its sights on seizing control of the world’s water supplies and holding humans to ransom," said the narrator, alluding to a water conference held in March in New York.
"Both the Economic Forum and the U.N. have ordered world governments to prepare to ration people’s water supply as part of their great reset agenda for humanity."
Shown on the screen: "The WEF death cult has plans for the worlds water!"
TikTok identified the video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact’s partnership with TikTok.)
The video did not cite evidence to back the rationing claim. The video was not labeled, but we traced it to The People’s Voice, which describes itself as "an American news publication committed to covering the headlines mainstream outlets shy away from." The claim was repeated on the organization’s website.
If two major international organizations "ordered" governments to ration water, mainstream news headlines would have followed.
But we searched Google and the Nexis database and found no evidence of such a statement.
Fact-checkers from USA Today and Snopes also found no evidence to back the claim.
Featured Fact-check
The World Economic Forum is an international organization that holds an annual meeting — most recently in January — in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss global commerce and political concerns. The meetings attract top government and business officials.
The World Economic Forum is a common target of conspiracy theorists; we have debunked several claims about it. The "Great Reset" proposal, referred to in the TikTok video, is not a conspiracy to force changes in economic systems.
In March, the U.N. held a conference in New York to address what it called a global water crisis. The U.N. declared water a human right and highlighted commitments to building water infrastructure, including a U.S. pledge to spend up to $49 billion on water and sanitation infrastructure and services.
The word ration does not appear in three major documents from the conference.
We rate the claim that the World Economic Forum and the U.N. have "ordered world governments to ration people’s water supply" False.
PolitiFact staff researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
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Our Sources
TikTok, post, April 20, 2023
USA Today, "Fact check: No, the World Economic Forum didn't order governments to ration water," April 26, 2023
Snopes, "Did World Economic Forum Order Governments to Begin Rationing Water?", April 14, 2023
The People’s Voice, "‘Water is Not a Human Right’: WEF Orders Govt’s To Begin Rationing Water Into Homes," (archived) April 12, 2023
U.N., "Historic UN conference marks watershed moment to tackle global water crisis and ensure water-secure future," March 24, 2023
U.N., "UN 2023 Water Conference," accessed May 2, 2023
U.N., "The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: partnerships and cooperation for water," accessed May 2, 2023
U.N., "The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: partnerships and cooperation for water; executive summary," accessed May 2, 2023
U.N., "The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: partnerships and cooperation for water; facts, figures and action examples," accessed May 2, 2023
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Despite video’s claims, neither World Economic Forum nor UN ordered governments to ration water
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