This poster makes its way around on social media from time to time, including today. It has a provocative quote from someone incorrectly identified as a WEF and UN spokesperson.

First, the quote has nothing to do with the WEF or the United Nations: Fact Check-Supposed Yuval Noah Harari ‘free will’ quote not on behalf of UN or WEF | Reuters

Reuters claimed they could not substantiate that Prof Harari ever said this – but in fact, he did indeed say this in a video clip published on Youtube. If you have enough data and enough computing power, then you can manipulate people in ways that were never possible in the past. He calls humans “hackable animals” – but when they are so manipulated by governments and corporations, then the concept of free will no longer exists.

This has nothing to do with either the WEF or the UN. But the creator of this poster, and those who share it, wants you to believe in a WEF/UN conspiracy theory.

Prof. Harari also wrote a lengthy column for FT detailing what his quote is about.

Text for Search Engines

“The era of free will is over” – Professor Yuval Noah Harari

UN, WEF, United Nations, World Economic Forum