Fact Check : The WHO is still active and operating in Russia, viral post is fake
Till this copy was written, the World Health Organisation has not closed its offices in Moscow. Fake posts are being shared on social media. Although the organisation’s special session considered closing the Offices of Non-Communicable Diseases in Russia, no decision has been taken on this issue yet.
- By Vishvas News
- Updated: August 4, 2022
New Delhi (Vishvas News): The Russian-Ukraine War is still going on. Meanwhile, a post is being shared on social media. In the post a photo of WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is used with text that reads, “Russia expels the World Health Organization and closes its offices in Moscow.”
Vishvas News in its investigation found that the viral claim is false. WHO has not closed its offices in Moscow till the time of writing this news. This is just a rumor.
Claim :
Facebook user Cindy Patterson (archive link) posted this on July 27. It is written on photo #Russia expels the world health organisation and closes its offices in Moscow.
Investigation
We started searching on google through several keywords, but did not find such news on any reliable website. But we found a news article published in Tass on 10th May. According to this report, a proposal came during a special session at the WHO Office in Europe. It considered the possible closure of the Office of Non-Communicable Diseases in Moscow.
We searched about this on the website of WHO Europe. In this we did not find any press release or statement regarding the closure of the office in Moscow.
We reached out to the World Health Organisation Europe spokesperson Bhanu Bhatnagar for confirmation. He told us, ‘It’s a lie and fake. Our office in Russia and the office of non-communicable diseases have not closed.”
Conclusion: Till this copy was written, the World Health Organisation has not closed its offices in Moscow. Fake posts are being shared on social media. Although the organisation’s special session considered closing the Offices of Non-Communicable Diseases in Russia, no decision has been taken on this issue yet.