The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday (September 17, 2026) busted online propaganda aimed at maligning India’s image globally. The MEA posted screenshots of several social media posts that peddled fake news that several world leaders who attended the 18th BRICS event in India fell ill due to food poisoning.
The posts contained false claims that multiple world leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Chinese President Xi Jinping, fell ill after attending the two-day event of the 18th edition of the BRICS Summit hosted by India.
⚠️ Misleading!
— MEA FactCheck (@MEAFactCheck) September 17, 2026
We caution against such malicious posts on social media platforms! pic.twitter.com/YvsNEQ3Jy2
The fake claims emerged on the internet after the office of President Ramaphosa released a statement, informing that he had withdrawn from public engagements after returning from the BRICS Summit in India. The statement added that the South African president was advised by doctors to rest and recover due to ill health.
“The Presidency wishes to advise that, due to ill health, President @CyrilRamaphosa is currently booked off from public engagements. President Ramaphosa, who returned from the BRICS Summit in India on Monday, has been advised by his medical team to rest and recover. Where possible, the President has asked the respective Ministers to represent him at scheduled public engagements,” the statement said.
As soon as the information about Ramaphosa’s ill health came out, the anti-India forces on the internet grabbed the opportunity to harm India’s global image by maliciously linking Ramaphosa’s ill health with his visit to India. Soon, several anti-India propaganda peddlers joined the chorus and pushed the false claims that, like President Ramaphosa, many world leaders who attended the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, fell sick.
The social media accounts peddling the fake news mocked India and shared images of food being prepared in unhygienic conditions to suggest that the unhygienic food offered at the BRICS Summit caused the world leaders to fall sick. Several social media posts also claimed that Chinese President Xi Jinping departed early from the summit for medical reasons.
However, all the false claims were debunked by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, which termed the posts as “malicious”. The Ministry cautioned people against similar misleading claims being shared across social media.
India successfully hosted the 18th BRICS Summit event between September 12 and 13, 2026, in New Delhi. The Summit, held with the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, was attended by 20 nations. The Summit concluded with a unanimous adoption of the New Delhi Declaration. This development marked a big achievement for India, as Prime Minister Modi was able to obtain a consensus from member countries with sharply diverse and often conflicting interests and positions on international conflicts.
However, the successful hosting of the Summit by India ruffled some feathers both at home and abroad, which is evident from the malicious online campaign that was debunked by the MEA.
