"One of his heroes": Klaus Schwab Lenin bust image goes viral amid backlash over recent Elon Musk claim

The founder and chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Klaus Schwab, started trending on the internet recently after a claim emerged that he reportedly called X (formerly Twitter) owner and tech mogul Elon Musk “a dangerous extremist fuse” in one of his videos. The footage was first posted on X by user @Resist_05.

As soon as the clipping went viral, netizens started recirculating an image of Lenin’s bust in Klaus Schwab’s office room, hinting that the German economist and engineer was a follower of the infamous Russian revolutionary who was the founder and head of Soviet Russia. The aim was to indicate that his alleged remarks about Elon Musk were a hypocritical move.

In this regard, an X user commented under @goddetekal’s tweet sharing the image of the Lenin bust in Klaus Schwab’s room, claiming that Lenin is one of Schwab’s heroes.

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Klaus Schwab did not make any comments about Elon Musk

The video circulating on the internet about WEF founder and chairman Klaus Schwab calling Elon Musk a “dangerous extremist fuse” has nothing to do with SpaceX and Tesla CEO. In fact, according to Snopes, the old footage is from August 2021 and is part of a speech of Schwab’s own Global Shapers Community initiative, which focuses on helping global communities in the post-pandemic world.

Nowhere in his speech does Schwab discuss Elon Musk. Instead, he was addressing young people about the community’s launch of “Davos Lab: Youth Recovery Plan.” As per the Global Shapers Community's official website, it is “a network of inspiring young people under the age of 30 working together to address local, regional, and global challenges.”

As per Snopes reports, the confusion may have arisen most likely because of Schwab’s accent, and his words were misrepresented. In reality, he was praising youths and encouraging them to “combat dangerous extremist views on the internet,” as well as presenting them with “new ways to minimize the spread of misinformation.”

In the wake of these false Elon Musk claims, netizens dug out an image of Klaus Schwab, against the backdrop of which is a bust of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin. Many reposted it on X, pointing out how Schwab is a fan of Lenin and how his alleged comments about Elon Musk make him look like a hypocrite.

It is important to note that while the Lenin bust image appears to be real, many have speculated that it was photoshopped.

So far, neither Elon Musk nor Klaus Schwab or WEF have commented on the controversy. Meanwhile, it is crucial to note that there is no evidence that Schwab ever made any remarks about Musk.

This was not the first time Schwab and WEF have been subjected to rumors and scandals. Earlier, the non-profit, which was founded in 1971, has been claimed to have influenced the growing gaps in global wealth by having real-life ties to elite networks, a lack of financial transparency, and having even generated gender debate for the underrepresentation of women, among others.