Chinese President Xi Jinping and his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa are allegedly sick according to a widespread social media campaign. The MEA has now debunked these claims.
Several social media posts claiming that world leaders fell ill after attending the BRICS Summit in India have been flagged as misleading by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Fact Check.
The posts made claims about South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with some suggesting that the leaders had suffered food poisoning after attending the summit.
MEA Fact Check posted a warning on X, calling the claims “misleading” and cautioning people against such posts.
One post shared by the MEA Fact Check was from First Squawk. It claimed that the BBC had reported that several world leaders, including Ramaphosa, had fallen ill after the BRICS Summit in India. It also said reports about Xi Jinping were unconfirmed.
⚠️ Misleading!
We caution against such malicious posts on social media platforms! pic.twitter.com/YvsNEQ3Jy2
— MEA FactCheck (@MEAFactCheck) September 17, 2026
Another post by unusual_whales made a similar claim and referred to the BBC while saying that Ramaphosa and reportedly Xi had fallen ill after attending the summit.
MEA Fact Check flagged these claims as misleading.
Some social media users went further and linked the alleged illness to food served at the BRICS Summit.
An account named Raw Egg Nationalist shared a video with a caption claiming that catering at the summit had apparently caused the deaths of Xi Jinping and Cyril Ramaphosa.
BIG STORY: South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa is Ill | ChimpReportsNews https://t.co/lLKNd10fvY pic.twitter.com/3dflTqpcIz
— ChimpReports (@ChimpReports) September 17, 2026
Another user, Dakkadakka, claimed that Ramaphosa, Xi and other leaders had suffered food poisoning while attending a BRICS event in India.
MEA Fact Check described these claims as misleading.
The BRICS News account on X also posted that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had become ill after attending the BRICS Summit.
MEA Fact Check again marked the claim as misleading.
Another social media post claimed that multiple world leaders had fallen ill after attending the summit. This claim was also flagged by the MEA’s fact-checking handle.
The MEA Fact Check has rejected the social media claims as misleading.
The posts used references to major news organisations and made claims about the health of foreign leaders. However, the MEA’s fact-checking unit warned users against accepting or spreading these claims.
There is also no verified information in the material cited by the MEA Fact Check that establishes that Xi Jinping or Cyril Ramaphosa suffered food poisoning because of food served at the BRICS Summit.
Rumors 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 by failure to treat early. Some wild claims say rival group armies are mobilizing for civil war. No…
— Bill Gertz (@BillGertz) September 16, 2026
Claim: Several world leaders, including Xi Jinping and Cyril Ramaphosa, fell ill after attending the BRICS Summit in India, allegedly because of food poisoning.
Fact Check: Misleading. The MEA Fact Check has warned against the viral social media posts and described the claims as misleading.
What users should do: Check information about major international events and public figures through verified government sources and credible news organisations before sharing it on social media.
