Fact-Check: Were Two WPL Commentators Banned For Passing Sexist Remarks?

We found that claim originated from a satirical post uploaded on a Twitter handle that posts memes and jokes.

A graphic showing three people in a cricket commentary box with their faces blurred out has gone amid the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) tournament.

The claim: The graphic claims that two male commentators were banned from commentating in the tournament for passing a sexist remark after a player dropped a catch.

(The post was widely shared on Facebook.)

The truth: We found that the claim was false. The graphic was a satirical piece of content created by a Twitter handle that regularly posts "memes and jokes."

How did we find that out:

• Upon looking at the graphic closely, we noticed the word "satire" written on the left side of the image.

• On the right side of the image, we noticed a Twitter handle called "@hp_mode2" and found the account on Twitter.

• The account, which regularly posts jokes and memes, had shared the image on 10 March and when people asked in the comments about the authenticity of the post, the account had clarified that it was satire.

*Satire* likha hai thik se dekh

— H🐇 (@hp_mode2) March 10, 2023

• We also conducted a keyword search for commentators being banned from the WPL but didn't find any news reports verifying the claim.

Who are the people in the image:

• We conducted a reverse image search of the viral image and found that the image was from 2019 and showed the commentary box during an Indian Premiere League (IPL) match.

• The image was published in Deccan Herald and the people in the photo were Sujith Somasundar, Vijay Bharadwaj and (standing) Srinivas Murthy.

• We looked for the official list of commentators for WPL 2023 and none of the people in the photograph were part of the commentary team.

Conclusion: It's clear that a satirical post on the Women's Premiere League has gone viral as real.

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