Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Netherlands PM Mark Rutte mops the floor after he spilt tea during the G20 summit held in New Delhi.
Fact
Viral video dates back to June 2018, when Mark Rutte cleaned up the coffee he spilt on the Dutch Parliament’s floor.
Several social media users are sharing a video, claiming that the Netherlands PM, Mark Rutte, had cleaned the floor after spilling his tea on it during the recently concluded G20 summit in New Delhi, evoking admiration for not getting volunteers to do the clean-up. Rutte, who was in Delhi for the summit on September 9-10, had visited Bengaluru on Monday, where he met senior Karnataka cabinet ministers, including deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, while also interacting with the local crowd and shopkeepers on Church Street.
We received this claim on our Whatsapp tipline (9999499044), too, requesting us to fact-check it.
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Fact Check
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Netherlands PM tea spill floor”, which led us to this Indian Express report, June 6, 2018, featuring the viral video. “Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is in the news after he spilled coffee and cleaned it on his own, without waiting for the Parliament’s cleaning staff to get going,” read the report.
Similar reports can be seen here and here, confirming that the viral video is of the 2018 incident. “Prime Minister of The Netherlands, Mark Rutte, is being praised on the Internet after a video clip of him cleaning up the parliament floor went viral on Tuesday. The clip shows the leader entering through the security gates of the Dutch parliament and accidentally dropping his coffee. But instead of having someone clean up the mess on the floor, he took the mop and did the job himself,” stated an NDTV report, dated June 6, 2018, adding that although the leader was applauded on Twitter for showing humility and most agreed that other leaders could take some cues from the 51-year-old, many remained sceptical and wondered if the gesture was just for the cameras.
Also Read: Rahul Gandhi Photographed With ISI Agent? Know The Truth Behind Viral Image
Conclusion
An old video of Netherlands PM Mark Rutte mopping the floor after he spilled coffee on it falsely shared as an incident that happened during the recent G20 summit in New Delhi.
Result: False
Sources
Indian Express report, June 6, 2018
BBC report, June 5, 2018
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
