A social media conspiracy theory stated that a passenger’s connection to the World Economic Forum had something to do with the Titan submersible’s implosion.
“What is the coincidence that the father and son trapped on this contraption right here, in this tin can, are part of a (sic) organisation that all of us Americans and Canadians despise?” a guy asked in an Instagram video posted on June 21.
According to the website, Dawood is the vice chairman of Engro Corp., a Pakistani holding firm involved in the fertiliser, food, energy, and liquefied gas industries.
He is not on the World Economic Forum’s list of leaders.
Engro Corp. is a member of the World Economic Forum. Partners of the World Economic Forum can network at WEF centres. The corporation collaborates with the Centres for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains, Energy and Materials, and Nature and Climate.
According to The New York Times, Shahzada Dawood was a British-Pakistani businessman from one of Pakistan’s wealthiest families.
According to his Engro biography, he also serves as a trustee on the boards of the Engro Foundation and the Dawood Foundation, as well as a director on the boards of other firms.
“Shahzada is a leading voice in the institutionalisation of key international networks and contacts,” according to the World Economic Forum website. He envisions a sustainable future and believes in inclusive business models that involve low-income communities in the creation of value chains aligned with business goals.”
He was referring to Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman, two of the five passengers on the submersible.
The man displayed a screenshot of a page on the World Economic Forum website regarding Shahzada Dawood.
“All right, all right. He’s a member of the World Economic Forum. He is also the World Economic Forum’s vice chairman. “What is the significance of him being stranded at sea and seeing the Titanic?” the man wondered.
The post was highlighted as part of Meta’s attempts to combat misinformation and misleading news on its News Feed. (Learn more about our collaboration with Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram.) It was made public before the United States Coast Guard confirmed on June 22 that the passengers aboard the submersible had died.
Dawood was not the vice chairman of the World Economic Forum; the Instagram user most likely misinterpreted the webpage.
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