An image, showing words inscribed in different languages, including Hindi, is being shared to claim that it is being given to volunteers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
However, the image is of a product available on e-commerce platform eBay and it's not an official medal unveiled by the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
CLAIM
Major Surendra Poonia shared the image claiming that the word 'Swayamsevak' is written on the medal that will allegedly be given to the volunteers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
You can view the archived version here.
(Source: Twitter/ Screenshot)
The Quint received a query on the claim made about the image on its WhatsApp tipline as well.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
Taking a cue from the words mentioned in the viral image, we searched on Google using keywords 'olympic tokyo 2020 benevole volunteer' and came across the image on e-commerce platform eBay’s website.
The description along with the image mentioned that it's a 'pin'. The website carried the images of the product from different angles and one can see that it appears to be a badge.
Further, we scanned the official website of Tokyo 2020 and found images of the official medals unveiled by the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
There is a stark difference in the designing of the product seen in the viral image and the official medals announced by Tokyo 2020.
While there is no mention of any medal being presented to the volunteers on the official website, the FAQ section mentioned that the committee had no plan of issuing a certificate of completion of the volunteer activity either.
We also came across a list of items that would be provided to the volunteers, however, there is no mention of a medal in this list. The full list can be viewed here.
Meanwhile, president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra, had also shared the viral image on Facebook and later took it down.
While speaking to India Today's fact-checking team, he said, "I have no idea if the person who sent this to me was aware of its source or he, too, had relied on a forwarded message. I can remove it if there’s something wrong about it. IOA has nothing to do with this volunteer medal news."
Evidently, a product available of an e-commerce platform was used to falsely claim that it's the medal that volunteers are getting at 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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