India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has dismissed viral claims that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders became ill after attending the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
The ministry’s fact-checking unit labelled the claims misleading and warned social media users against what it described as malicious posts.
The BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi on 12 and 13 September under the theme Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.
The claims gained traction after Ramaphosa’s office confirmed that the South African president had been booked off from public engagements.
He was advised by his doctors to rest and recover, although his office did not disclose the nature of his illness.
Social media posts subsequently attempted to link Ramaphosa’s health to an alleged food poisoning incident at the BRICS summit.
However, India’s MEA has rejected the suggestion that world leaders fell ill because of food served at the event.
The ministry’s fact-checking account on X directly addressed the claims, describing them as misleading and urging people to be cautious of unverified information circulating online.
Separate social media claims suggested that Xi had fainted or had left India early because of health concerns.
Those claims are also disputed by available information.
Xi attended the second session of the BRICS Summit alongside Cyril Ramaphosa and other leaders on 13 September, before completing his scheduled engagements.
There has been no verified evidence presented linking Xi’s health, or Ramaphosa’s subsequent medical leave, to food served at the summit.
The New Delhi meeting brought together leaders of the BRICS grouping as discussions focused on cooperation, economic development, resilience and other international issues.
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