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Never Said

Did the World Health Organization order President Joe Biden to arrest Americans who share "non-mainstream content online"? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no evidence the organization ever said this. A spokesperson for the WHO denied this claim. The article making the claim links to a story about a plan to develop an approach to curbing misinformation, but it does not mention orders to arrest anyone.

The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by The People's Voice on September 18, 2023, titled "WHO Orders Biden To Arrest Americans Who Share Non-Mainstream Content Online." It began:

The World Health Organization (WHO) has ordered the Biden regime to begin censoring and arresting Americans who are caught sharing non-mainstream opinions online.

Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:

(Source: The People's Voice screenshot taken on Wed Jan 3 16:24:16 2024 UTC)

Lead Stories searched on Google News for "WHO AND President Biden AND arrest Americans who share non-mainstream content online" (search archived here) and found nothing that would substantiate the claim.

David Epsteinn, a spokesperson for the WHO, denied this claim in a January 3, 2024, email:

This claim is false. Member States of WHO are drafting and negotiating an international agreement to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. The agreement is still under discussion by an intergovernmental negotiating body. It will not impinge on national laws and regulations. Member States themselves will decide the terms of the accord, including whether any [o]f its provisions will be legally binding on them as a matter of international law. For more details, see Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) (who.int).

According to The People's Voice article, the WHO, United Nations and World Economic Forum (WEF) are all working together to create a "Global Pandemic Treaty." This treaty will, allegedly, grant the three entities the power "to govern nations and impose tyrannical censorship policies that directly violate the First Amendment."

Larry Gostin (archived here), the head of the Georgetown WHO Collaborating Center, is cited as a key player in finalizing the treaty. Gostin did talk to Health Policy Watch (archived here), an independent global health reporting site, about a "Pandemic Accord" (which The People's Voice refers to as a "Global Pandemic Treaty"; archived here). The Accord would not give the United Nations, WEF or WHO "tyrannical" power. Gostin says in the Health Policy Watch article that the Accord "should ensure equitable sharing of lifesaving resources, promote a 'One Health' approach to zoonotic diseases and establish robust compliance mechanisms." He ends his description with this statement, "The Accord could transform global health law by emphasizing equity, a holistic health strategy, and effective enforcement."

Lead Stories could not find an article that reported information about a "Global Pandemic Treaty" on Google News (archived here), a site that uses thousands of credible news sites.

Gostin is not a spokesperson or representative for the WHO.

The Collaborating Center says its main goal is to be "responsible for delivering technical support for implementing the WHO and PAHO's [Pan American Health Organization] mandated work and program objectives and strengthening capacity in the United States." The Health Policy Watch article states that Gostin wants to stop the spread of misinformation, especially how it relates to vaccines. Gostin said:

Misinformation poses a serious health threat, especially in vaccine distribution. Balancing free speech with combating misinformation is challenging. An all-of-society approach is needed, involving medical societies, tech companies, and fact-checking organizations. WHO can lead partnerships between scientific experts and information disseminators to ensure credible information reaches the public.

Nowhere in this article does Gostin talk about arresting dissenters or calling on the Biden administration to arrest Americans who share "non-mainstream" opinions online.

The People's Voice

The People's Voice has a lengthy record of publishing false stories in the past. It describes itself as a resource "comprised of various web pages operated by Fact Checked Limited," but it has nothing to do with fact-checking.

As of this writing, its website contained a liability disclaimer, saying:

FACT CHECKED LIMITED AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON THE SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL SUCH INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED 'AS IS' WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND.

Other Lead Stories articles on the WHO are here.