FACT CHECK: No, A Wheelchair Using Fashion Designer Was Not Hired As Sky Sports News Presenter
A post shared on X, formerly Twitter, allegedly shows a screenshot of a Sky Sports News broadcast showing fashion designer Faduma Farah as a new presenter for the show.
New Sky Sports News presenter unveiled pic.twitter.com/XFNRoNwJSk
— Kevin Phillips Bong (@K_Phillips_Bong) January 20, 2024
Verdict: False
The image is digitally fabricated. The original image of Farah shows a plain background with no Sky Sports News logo.
Fact Check:
Sky Sports presenter Michelle Owen announced that she is pregnant, but is struggling with a rare pregnancy condition called Hyperemesis gravidarum, according to Mirror. The condition causes extreme nausea and vomiting and can be life-threatening in rare cases, the outlet reported.
An X post claims to show a new presenter for Sky Sports News. The photo shows the alleged presenter in a wheelchair with several logos and flags on top.
“New Sky Sports News presenter unveiled,” the post reads. It shows Farah with a pride flag attached to the back of her wheelchair along with a Black Lives Matter fist and a Palestinian flag on the side of her chair. Behind her there appears to be a studio with the logo for Sky Sports News.
Some X users in the comments seemed to take the image seriously. “That’s about where we’re at,” one reads. “The world has gone mad!”
There are no credible news reports to corroborate the claim. The original image of Farah was posted to a website called Retail Week and shows a plain background, not the Sky Sports News background. (RELATED: X Video Shows Fashion Waste Campaign Not Boycott)
Farah is a designer who specializes in wheelchair-based fashion after she suffered a near-fatal case of meningitis that left her paralyzed from the waist down, according to Vogue. She was inspired to begin work as a designer after realizing how limited comfortable clothing options were for wheelchair users, the outlet reported.
Check Your Fact has contacted spokespeople for Farah and Sky Sports News for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received from either source.
