WEF is not orchestrating U.S. border crisis from military bases in Panama

What’s the claim?

An article titled “WEF Caught Orchestrating U.S. Border Crisis From Military Bases in Panama,” published by People’s Voice, formerly known as NewsPunch — a misinformation and conspiracy theory site — is being widely shared across social media platforms. An archived version of the article can be found here. 

The article, published on September 30, 2023, focuses on an X post (archive here) shared by political commentator Ann Vandersteel on September 26, 2023. The post featured a photo of a flag of Panama and another white flag by its side, along with the caption, “Take a good hard look America. The U.S. government abandoned Panama.. the American crown jewel of Latin America. The UNITED STATES MILITARY compounds are either totally run down or worse, occupied by globalist psychopaths. We built the canal and gave it away. The first ship to transit the canal after we gave it to Panamá was from China. Today China has a massive presence all over Central and South America. Your government let that happen. Panamanians love Americans, and they are asking, “Where are the Americans?” This is the old SouthComm base known as Ft Clayton and today the WEF flies their flag. Are we going to let the CCP and WEF take it all?” The post is part of a documentation on “Operation Burning Edge” launched by Vandersteel that alleges that the WEF flag has been raised outside a former American military base in Panama next to its own flag. 

The screenshot attributing to WEF’s takeover of the military base in Panama is viral on many mainstream social media platforms, including TikTok, X, and Facebook. Archived versions of such posts can be accessed here, here, here, here, and here.

Screenshots of claims made online (Source: Facebook/ X)

However, there is no evidence that WEF has taken over the military bases in Panama or is managing the U.S. border situation there.

What we found

Ann Vandersteel is a conservative political commentator and a media personality who hosts an online show, "Right Now with Ann Vandersteel." The alleged article states that Vandersteel visited the former site of Fort Clayton near the former Panama Canal Zone and shared an image of the flags raised there, claiming they belonged to the WEF.

Logically Facts found that the white flag next to the Panama flag that could be seen in the viral photo is not the WEF flag. 

Zooming into the viral image, we could see the letters "WFP" on the flag. We then searched for WFP on Google and found results for the World Food Programme (WFP). The WFP's official website had the same emblem and logo seen in the viral image. The flag had Portuguese text on it that read, "Programa Mundial de Alimentos" (which translates to “World Food Programme”). This confirms that the white flag seen in the viral image is not of the World Economic Forum (WEF). The World Food Programme is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is not linked to the WEF.

Comparison of viral image and the WFP logo. (Source: X/ @annvandersteel/World Food Programme)

Additionally, the logo of the WFP is different from the WEF. A comparison shows that the WEF flag and the WFP flag are different. 

A comparison of the flag seen in the viral claim with the WEF flag. (Source: X/Screenshot/World Economic Forum/Benedikt von Loebell)

Yann Zopf, spokesperson of the WEF, told Logically Facts that the claim is false. Zopf said, "I can confirm that these claims are fake news created to discredit the important work that the World Economic Forum does on serious global challenges." 

The U.S. Department of State states, "In 1977, the United States and Panama signed the Carter-Torrijos Treaties to set basic governing standards for the Canal through 1999 and guarantee its permanent neutrality. These treaties were enacted in 1979, and on December 31, 1999, Panama assumed full jurisdiction and operational control over the Canal." Therefore, the military bases in Panama are controlled by the government and military authorities of Panama. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection within the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for securing U.S. borders between ports of entry., according to the U.S. Federal Register.

Moreover, the WEF does not have the authority to control the military bases in the United States or any other country. The WEF is a non-governmental organization that primarily focuses on economic and social issues and holds events like the annual meetings in Davos. 

The WEF is often the subject of various conspiracy theories and misinformation campaigns that suggest it is involved in secret plans for world control or a "New World Order." It is important to note that these claims are widely considered unfounded.

Logically has previously debunked multiple claims made by The People's Voice.

 The verdict

The WEF has no authority over the military bases in Panama. The flag seen in the X post is not that of WEF but of WFP, a United Nations body that provides global food aid. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.