FACT CHECK: Photographer crying in viral picture is not related to Messi's decision
Lionel Messi has recently announced that he is leaving Barcelona. Following this, many social media users began sharing posts on various platforms.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 12 Aug 2021 12:29 PM GMT
HYDERABAD: Lionel Messi has recently announced that he is leaving Barcelona. Following this, many social media users began sharing posts on various platforms.
One such post that became viral was a picture of a cameraman crying. Netizens claim that the cameraman was crying as he was upset over Messi's decision to leave Barcelona. "Even the cameraman covering Messi's farewell from Barcelona cried like a baby...Sigh," read the message.
FACT CHECK:
The claim is false. The image is not linked to Messi's decision to leave Barcelona.
NewsMeter performed a reverse image search and found that the same image was tweeted in January 2019 by the AFC Asian Cup. The tweet identified the man as an Iraqi photographer who got emotional during the round 16 clash against Qatar.
The same was also tweeted by Arab sports website 'Sport360Arabiya' and reported by 'Aljazeera'. The image was taken when the Iraq national football team lost to Qatar in the 2019 Asian Cup.
A Twitter user in 2019 shared another image of the photographer from the same event. The image clearly shows an Iraqi flag on his jersey.
This is not the first time that the viral image is shared with false claims. It was previously shared and linked to MS Dhoni during the 2019 World Cup semi-final match between New Zealand and India. It was also linked to the Israel-Palestine conflict. NewsMeter debunked them too. Click here to read.
Evidently, the claim of photojournalist turning emotional after when Messi announced his decision to leave Barcelona.
