World Economic Forum ‘rigged data’ to make Brexit look like failure \ stacker news ~econ

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World Economic Forum ‘rigged data’ to make Brexit look like failure www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/07/21/wef-rigged-data-to-make-brexit-look-like-failure/

623 sats \ 13 comments \ @k00b 18h econ

Klaus Schwab, the face of the Davos conference in Switzerland for years, allegedly intervened in the WEF’s annual Global Competitiveness Report, which ranks countries on productivity and long-term prosperity.

In the 2017/2018 report, the UK’s ranking improved from seventh to fourth after a change in methodology.

But Mr Schwab, 87, wrote to staff that the UK “must not see any improvement”, as otherwise it would be “exploited by the Brexit camp”.

During the preparation of the same report, according to the investigation, Mr Schwab allegedly ensured that India did not drop 20 places in the ranking.

He was hoping to convince Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, to join the conference in the Swiss Alpine ski resort, which is attended by about 60 world leaders every year.

My favorite part of these scandals is the kayfabe outrage by colleagues.

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224 sats \ 5 replies \ @Undisciplined 18h

It's a tough problem in general. Whoever's funding and conducting any research will have some agenda they'd like to advance. Even people who think they're being objective have this problem.

My rule of thumb is to just give zero weight to any information coming from people or institutions who have been caught lying before.

57 sats \ 1 reply \ @optimism 16h

Whoever's funding and conducting any research will have some agenda they'd like to advance.

This is why we don't trust, we verify.

5 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 16h

That's pretty limiting. There are a lot of things that have been researched that would be literally impossible to verify by yourself.

42 sats \ 0 replies \ @Rothbardian_fanatic 14h

I give about the same weight to anyone being funded by the organization that needs those really favorable results to make more sales and income. These “scientists” could be more properly called prostitutes, IMHO. I take liars voices to be the same as the wind, for who pays any attention to the sound of the wind?

47 sats \ 1 reply \ @kepford 16h

This is my approach. I never trust liars. Period. They might be telling a truth today but I don't trust them. If applied this means you can't trust pretty much all political figures. Including ones I may agree with sometimes.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 15h

This is one of the reasons I so often couch statements with things like "Something I've heard is [insert claim], which makes some sense to me."

I'm pretty reluctant to make strong claims about many things anymore.

33 sats \ 0 replies \ @xz 10h

I like the way that Donald Trump regularly manages to ensure that he limits the ability of photographers to turn photo ops of event attendance handshakes out of context.

If I had to provide a caption it'd be something like a thought bubble with an image of hand disinfectant.

105 sats \ 0 replies \ @south_korea_ln 17h

https://archive.md/YNwmr

5 sats \ 0 replies \ @Rothbardian_fanatic 14h

I guess this is the way they will try to drag the UK back into the EU, kicking and screaming all the way until the rape is complete. This is what is happening to the UK, rape, pure and simple, not only in allegory but actually physical, in reality, rape. The only reason THEY can get away with this is that the British public allowed itself to be disarmed. I don’t quite think this would have happened if the Brits still had possession of their firearms. You will notice that the UK, Canada and Australia have all had this same game played on them and they are all getting the same tyrannical results for their gullibility. THEY are still trying to do it here, aren’t they

5 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 16h

It still surprises me how few people question studies where there is an obvious agenda.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @kepford 16h

Least shocking thing today

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @optimism 16h

Magical, this lack of transparency, that makes it so that things like this always get found out after people leave, not during. No surprise, just asking myself: why aren't we there yet?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Akg10s3 18h

Thanks for sharing 👌