FACT CHECK: Photo Of Egyptian Black Belts Raising Palestinian Flag Predates Paris 2024 Olympics

Christine Sellers | Fact Check Reporter

An image shared on X claims to show two Egyptian black belts raising the Palestinian flag after defeating their Israeli opponent at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Verdict: False

The claim is false. The image was shared on X in November 2022 and shows an International Championship in Slovenia.

Fact Check:

Palestinian boxer Waseem Abu Sal wore a T-shirt showing children being bombed during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to the Times of Israel. Sal said his shirt “represents the current picture in Palestine” while speaking with AFP, the outlet reported.

The X image, viewed over 200 times as of writing, claims to show two Egyptian black belts raising the Palestinian flag after defeating their Israeli opponent at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In the image, the two Egyptian black belts can be seen holding the Palestinian flag while standing in the first and second place spots on the podium. Meanwhile, their Israeli opponent stands in the third place spot holding an Israeli flag. The image bears an icon in the bottom right corner that suggests it may have originally come from the online forum Reddit.

The claim is false. Check Your Fact performed a reverse image search, which led us to Reddit. “Both Egyptians [sic] contestants raising Palestinian flag against their Israeli contender,” the title of the post, shared to the online forum two years ago, reads. The image has since been deleted. Another reverse image search generated a November 2022 post featuring the image on X.

“Egypt’s national karate players raise Palestine flag after winning first and second places in an International Championship in Slovenia,” the post’s caption indicates.

A keyword search generates the video of the black belts raising the Palestinian flag following their respective wins. The video was shared on Facebook on November 21, 2022. (RELATED: Did An Olympic Shooter Ask His Ex-Wife For His Dog Back After Winning A Silver Medal?)

Likewise, Check Your Fact did not find any credible news reports to support the claim that the image of the two black belts was linked to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Actually, the opposite is true. On August 5, India Today reported the image predated the 2024 Paris Olympics and was from 2022.

Furthermore, in January, NBC News reported karate and baseball would not be featured as events in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Check Your Fact has contacted the Olympics for comment.

Christine Sellers

Fact Check Reporter

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