Authors
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
Wrestling Federation of India Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh slaps a male wrestler who came “seeking justice.”
The archive version of tweet can be seen here.
The claim has been shared at an instance when wrestlers are protesting in New Delhi against Singh for allegedly molesting female wrestlers, thus insinuating that the incident was related to the recent protest. A quick scroll through the comment section of the tweet also reveals that many users were linking the video with the current wrestlers protests in Delhi.
Fact
Newschecker conducted a keyword search for the words ‘Brij Bhushan’ ‘Ranchi’ and ‘Slaps wrestler’ which led us to several reports of the incident from 2021.
One of the reports, titled “Wrestling federation chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh loses cool, slaps wrestler in public,” published on December 18, 2021, reveals that the wrestler was onstage to object to being debarred from contesting in the ongoing Under-15 Wrestling Championship over being over-age.
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“During age verification, a wrestler from Uttar Pradesh was found to be above 15 years of age. He was stopped from participating in the competition. However the wrestler first lodged a complaint and then stepped onto the stage and started arguing with the WFI president. Later, the wrestler insisted him to step into the ring. Singh tried to pacify him and asked the wrestler to step down from the stage. He refused to do so and started shouting on the stage. After that the WFI president lost his temper and slapped the wrestler in front of everyone,” the report read, confirming that the incident had nothing to do with the recent protests in New Delhi.
Other reports also narrated the same sequence of events, confirming that the video is being falsely linked to the recent turn of events. Such reports can be read here, here and here.
Thus, we understand that an old and unrelated video of Brij Bhushan Singh slapping a wrestler on stage has been shared on social media in the current context of protests against the WFI coach.
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Result: False
Our Sources,
Report published by NDTV, dated December 18, 2021
Report published by Times Of India, dated December 18, 2021
Report published by Outlook, dated December 19, 2021
Report published by BBC on YouTube, dated December 18, 2021
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Authors
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.
