Firstpost ·
India fact-checks: Are China’s Xi Jinping and South Africa’s Ramaphosa sick?
On social media, claims that Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, are sick after the Brics Summit are spreading like wildfire. The wave of speculation prompted the Ministry of External Affairs to issue a clarification, calling these posts ‘misleading’
World leaders and their health are always a subject of speculation. Rumours about the ageing US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin rarely cease.
Now, almost a week after India hosted the Brics Summit in New Delhi, speculation is rife over Chinese President Xi Jinping’s health. Numerous unverified accounts on social media have claimed that the leader was flown out of India in a hurry and rushed to a hospital.
In addition to Xi’s health, rumours also began flying over the condition of South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa.
Amid the conjecture, India’s Ministry of External Affairs, in a rare move, stepped in, issuing a clarification that these claims were “misleading” and cautioned against such “malicious posts” online.
On Thursday (September 17), the Ministry of External Affairs’ fact-checking team published multiple posts debunking rumours of Xi Jinping and Cyril Ramaphosa’s ill-health.
It further issued a warning against spreading “such malicious posts on social media platforms”.
Xi and Ramaphosa rumours spread like wildfire
The MEA fact-check came after several accounts online began to speculate about Xi and Ramaphosa’s health.
According to X user Wanjun Xie, who claims to be the chairman of the China Democratic Party and is known to peddle anti-Communist Party of China propaganda, the Chinese leader fainted during the Brics summit in New Delhi and later suffered a severe ischemic stroke.
In his rather lengthy post, Wanjun also claimed that Xi struggled up the stairs of his aircraft while departing India. “His body was under extreme strain, his left leg lacked strength, and his left arm failed to provide balance, forcing him to tilt his body to the left just to barely make it up the step. When Xi Jinping turned at the cabin door to wave, his accompanying doctor immediately rushed onto the plane,” wrote the reported Chinese dissident, whose whereabouts are unknown.
Moreover, he alleged that once Xi landed in China, he was rushed to Beijing’s 301 Hospital.
No credible report has backed this claim, and Firstpost hasn’t been able to verify the veracity of Wanjun’s claims. However, when the claim was put through Grok, it stated that it was not true. “This is an unverified rumour from the exiled opposition figure Xie Wanjun. Official records show that Xi Jinping attended the Brics summit (September 12-13) as originally scheduled and returned to Beijing on time. Neither Chinese nor Indian officials have confirmed any fainting, stroke, or hospitalisation. There are reports of public activities after his return to Beijing. In the video, he boarded the plane on his own and waved, with no apparent abnormalities,” stated the AI assistant.
However, Wanjun Xie wasn’t the only one to make such claims about Xi’s physical well-being. Another X account, Bill Gertz, who is the Washington Times national security correspondent, also wrote, “Rumours are flying in China over Xi Jinping begin taken ill during his visit to India. They include claims that he suffered a minor illness to experiencing a stroke worsened by failure to treat early. Some wild claims say rival group armies are mobilising for civil war. No confirmation, but Treasury Secretary Bessent is meeting with Chinese counterparts today, and we’ll see if the summit for Sept 24 is still on.”
Far-right influencer Laura Loomer also added to the Xi poor health rumours. “Does anyone actually care that Xi Jinping is sick or suffered a medical emergency? This is a man who murdered 1.2 million US citizens with a bio weapon and got away with it. Maybe he will be too sick to travel to the US next week. Nobody cares.”
Jennifer Zeng, an independent blogger known for her criticism of the Chinese Communist Party, cited a former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official in her claims that “Xi Jinping is suffering from cerebellar atrophy”.
All of these unverified claims have taken a life of their own, spawning fake videos and AI-generated images of an unwell Xi.
Many social media handles have even used PM Modi’s pause during his Brics speech to support their claims. On the first day of the Brics Summit (Saturday, September 12), PM Modi paused while making his opening remarks, looking to Xi and asking, ‘Is it okay?’
While netizens are speculating that it was over Xi’s health, others note that the PM’s query was related to the Chinese leader’s earpiece translator and not his health.
And Xi isn’t the only victim of such claims. Many reports have emerged that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has booked off from public engagements due to ill health on the advice of his medical team.
According to one claim, his office stated that he had been advised to rest and recover after returning from India on Monday.
As the rumours spread far and wide, with many chiming in, some began to discredit these claims.
X user @SimonLevyMx, who claims to “proudly serve President Trump and Maga”, noted online, “I have personally verified that the rumours circulating about President Xi Jinping’s health are false. President Xi is in good health. These false rumours are being spread, in my assessment, by woke Democrats and people associated with the São Paulo Forum. Political propaganda should never be confused with facts.”
Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at Brookings Institute and author of the book Fateful Triangle: How China Shaped US-India Relations During the Cold War, also noted on X: “Seeing rumours re Xi’s health based on a fake image from Brics day 1. After he’s supposed to have “collapsed,” he somehow managed to — give Day 1 remarks, have a bilateral with Modi, plant a tree, give Day 2 remarks.”
While the MEA has debunked the speculation, the topic of Xi and Ramaphosa’s health is still being spoken about, making it a viral trending topic on several social media platforms.