Fact Check: Was WHO Director-General Filmed Partying in Skimpy Outfit?

The World Health Organization has been the target of conspiracy theories since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, falsely claiming that the global health system has caused outbreaks and needs to expand its global powers.

The WHO faced false claims circulating online in 2023 that it sought to gain strength by forcing countries into lockdown in the event of long-lasting pandemics, a story that has now been largely debunked.

A more discreet allegation surfaced online this week that its CEO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, filmed her dancing in a revealing outfit at a party.

A post on A caption above the video reads “Meet Tedros. . . The head of the WHO!”

A voiceover reads: “This is Tedros, head of the WHO, who will soon be in control of all countries and the pandemic. Do you accept it as true? I don’t. “

The Facts

The account that posted this video is known for spreading false and unverified claims on X. This claim about Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is no different.

The video has been online since at least 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, and has been debunked.

As discovered by fact-checking site Myth Detector, the video was recorded in Brazil on February 16, 2020, when Ghebreyesus was attending a security convention in Munich, Germany.

Myth Detector used images of a television screen in the background of the filming of the program Domingão do Faustão that aired on February 16, 2020.

The Brazilian newspaper and online website EXTRA contacted the bar in 2020, calling a number listed on the bartenders’ uniforms; He said the video was recorded “a long time ago,” adding that at the time of the call “the bar had been closed for almost 90 days. “

According to Myth Detector, Ghebreyesus was in Munich between February 14 and 16, 2020, giving a speech on February 15 that can still be viewed online. He also participated in a press conference in Geneva for the WHO on 17 February 2020.

The video posted on X appeared to come from a TikTok account called @jamiconstitutionchick, which is no longer online.

Newsweek has reached out to a World Health Organization outlet for comment.

Former White House senior energy adviser John Podesta was the subject of similar claims in 2018 when he was attributed to a video of a nude man wearing body paint at a house party. The video circulated online for several years despite being repeatedly debunked.

In 2022, Ghebreyesus also falsely claimed to have been arrested for crimes against humanity, even though the claim came from a “satirical” website.

decision

FALSE.

The video is not by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Se filmed in 2020 in a bar in Brazil while Ghebreyesus was attending a security convention in Munich. The date the video was filmed has been verified and debunked by various fact-checking bodies.

FACT-CHECKING BY Newsweek’s fact-checking team

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