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CLAIM: Shahzada Dawood, one of many passengers who <\/span>died in the Titan submersible<\/a><\/span>, was the vice-chairman of the World Financial Discussion board.<\/span><\/p>\n AP\u2019S ASSESSMENT: False. A web page on the World Financial Discussion board\u2019s web site listed Dawood as \u201cVice-Chairman, Engro Company, Dawood Hercules,\u201d referring to his household\u2019s corporations, not the discussion board itself. Dawood was a member of the World Financial Discussion board\u2019s Household Enterprise Neighborhood, however wasn\u2019t an worker, a spokesperson stated.<\/span><\/p>\n THE FACTS: Dawood, a outstanding Pakistani businessman, and his son had been among the many<\/span> four passengers and pilot<\/a><\/span> on board the OceanGate submersible, Titan, which officers now say imploded close to the wreckage of the Titanic. <\/span><\/p>\n A day earlier than the <\/span>U.S. Coast Guard announced<\/a> <\/span>the passengers\u2019 destiny, some social media customers shared a web page from the discussion board\u2019s web site, falsely claiming it confirmed Dawood was the group\u2019s chief. The Geneva-based assume tank and occasion organizer \u2014 greatest recognized for internet hosting an annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland \u2014 is <\/span>a frequent subject<\/a><\/span> of conspiracy theories. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat’s the coincidence that the daddy and the son which might be trapped on this contraption proper right here, on this tin can, are a part of a corporation that us People and Canadians all despise?\u201d a person stated in a June 21 Instagram video with greater than 3,000 likes as of Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe’s a part of the World Financial Discussion board. He’s additionally the vice chairman of World Financial Discussion board,\u201d he continued, displaying a screenshot of the webpage about Dawood on the World Financial Discussion board web site. <\/span><\/p>\n Nonetheless, that’s not what the forum\u2019s page<\/a> says. It says \u201cVice-Chairman, Engro Company, Dawood Hercules.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Engro Company is a Pakistani conglomerate that works in a number of industries, together with vitality and agriculture. It’s owned by Dawood Hercules Corp., his household\u2019s agency.<\/span><\/p>\n Yann Zopf, a spokesperson with the World Financial Discussion board, confirmed to The Related Press that Dawood is just not the vice chairman or an worker. Dawood can also be not featured on the <\/span>WEF leadership page<\/a><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n Zopf famous that Dawood was a member of the World Financial Discussion board\u2019s Household Enterprise Neighborhood and attended a number of the occasions on this capability. The Household Enterprise Neighborhood connects \u201coutstanding household enterprise leaders worldwide,\u201d in line with <\/span>its website<\/a><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n Engro Corp can also be <\/span>listed as a World Economic Forum partner<\/a><\/span>, which permits companies to take part within the group\u2019s facilities and occasions for networking. <\/span><\/p>\n Pages on the WEF web site just like the one that includes Dawood are created for any one who has ever attended a WEF occasion or has written a weblog posted on the positioning, <\/span>Zopf previously told the AP.<\/a><\/p>\n The U.S Coast Guard stated <\/span>in a news conference<\/a> on Thursday that the Titan\u2019s implosion possible occurred close to the Titanic shipwreck.<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>five others<\/a> <\/span>who perished embrace a famend Titanic knowledgeable, a world-record holding adventurer, and Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate and the pilot of the vessel. <\/span><\/p>\n ___<\/span><\/p>\n That is a part of AP\u2019s effort to handle broadly shared misinformation, together with work with exterior corporations and organizations so as to add factual context to deceptive content material that’s circulating on-line.<\/span> <\/span>Learn more about fact-checking at AP.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n