Fact Check: A viral image of Olympic medal for volunteers shared on social media is false.
Photo of a ‘medal’ is viral which has ‘Volunteer’ in different languages, Swamsevak in Hindi, written on it claimed to be given to volunteers who helped in the event.
Claim: Volunteers at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics will be given medals with the word ‘volunteer’ written in several languages, including ‘swayamsevak’ in Hindi. Netzines on social media are saying this shows India’s stature in the world and how India has attained a global position. The post was shared by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra on his Facebook page initially which he later deleted but it was forwarded by many on multiple social media sites.
जापान के टोक्यो में होने वाले Olympic खेलों में इस बार Volunteers को दिये जाने वाले Medal पर दूसरी भाषाओं के साथ हमारी राष्ट्रीय भाषा 🇮🇳 हिन्दी में भी स्वयंसेवक लिखा हुआ होगा🤗💪
“स्वयंसेवक” नाम सुनते ही रोमन ग़ुलामों का दिल बैठ सा जाता है 🥰 pic.twitter.com/wF4anxojv7
— Major Surendra Poonia (@MajorPoonia) June 28, 2021
The medal to be given to Tokyo Olympics Volunteers also has inscription in hindi *स्वंयसेवक*. I feel this is a big achievement for India & its stature in todays world.
Proud to share this. pic.twitter.com/LezokCgjwc— ID🌻 (@DhamneIshita) June 27, 2021
The medal to be given to Tokyo Olympics Volunteers also has inscription in hindi *स्वंयसेवक*. I feel this is a big achievement for India & its stature in todays world.
Proud to share this. @MajorPoonia @FitBharat pic.twitter.com/qrjwMiIKhI— kshitiz mahajan (@kshitiz_m) June 28, 2021
The post went viral on FACEBOOK, TWITTER.
Truth
There was no official announcement on the Olympic website about the medals to be given to the volunteers.
When the image was reverse searched, it leads to a page on eBay selling the same medals for US $1.50 (around Rs 111).
CONCLUSION
The picture is of a ‘volunteer pin’ being sold on the e-commerce website ‘eBay’. So far, no such announcement regarding ‘volunteer medals’ has been made by the International Olympic Committee.
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