During a media forum in Mogilev on May 28, Aleksandr Lukashenko said Belarus needs to strengthen propaganda and counter-propaganda. Then he reiterated his standard narrative, stating that state media outlets prioritize truth. Meanwhile, Dmitry Zhuk, editor-in-chief of “SB. Belarus Today,” echoed a similar sentiment.
“You know, what's the hardest and most disgusting thing for a journalist to do? To lie. Well, in our country, journalists don't have to lie,” Zhuk, in particular, said.
The Belarusian Interactive Catalogue of Fakes, created by the WTF team, includes over 600 items as of this publication. Belarusian state media disseminated the majority of the debunked fakes. The catalog already contains eight fakes from Dmitry Zhuk. From his colleague, the head of Belteleradiocompany Ivan Eismont, there are about thirty.
Then, a day after Lukashenko and Zhuk, pro-government political analyst and TV host Vadim Elfimov continued the dissemination of the fake that state media employees never deceive their audience. On the air of Radio Minsk, he said:
“There was such a phrase by the President, he said: 'Our strength is in the truth.' Well, I also believe this is the main distinguishing feature we should hold onto. We give the truth. And only the truth. And this is our strength.”
A minute later the audience of the same air was told that the founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Klaus Schwab, considers pedophilia a positive phenomenon. Here is what media personality Elfimov, in particular, claimed:
“Schwab said that this is a gift from God to humanity. About pedophilia. There was someone who recently left the post of the main curator of the Davos Economic Forum. Well, the narrative is so narrative. As soon as you hear some foreign word, I'll tell you honestly, you should immediately be on the alert.”
This fake news was published by the News Punch website back in January 2023. Here's what that article reported:
“According to a research paper presented at the WEF in Davos, the pedophile phenomenon represents nature’s attempt to cleanse the earth and “save humanity” from itself. <...> The pedophilia epidemic that is sweeping the world is actually “nature’s gift” to humanity, according to Klaus Schwab.”
The News Punch website has repeatedly been caught by Western fact-checkers for spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories. The article's author provides no evidence that Schwab said anything similar. WEF representatives have officially denied the existence of such studies and Schwab's statements.
Moreover, the economist and founder of the World Economic Forum in Davos has retained his professional position. According to the Forum's official website, “by January 2025, Klaus Schwab will transition from Executive Chairman to Chairman of the Board of Trustees.”
