Brazil team's traditional welcome in Australia FALSELY shared as Indian
The video is from Brisbane, Australia, where Brazil's senior men's football team was welcomed with an Aboriginal traditional ceremony.
For the first time, Brazil's senior men's football team will travel to India to take on the Indian national team in an international friendly at Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata, on October 3.
Amid the anticipation, a video of a welcome ritual has gone viral on social media. It shows Brazilian players standing in a line as a man wafts smoke at them from a burning bush heβs holding. People shared the video with captions like: "Welcome to India Brazil Football team."
India Today Fact Check, however, found that the video is from Australia.
A keyword search to confirm the Brazil team's arrival in India led us to a Times of India report dated September 21. It said the five-time World Cup champions will arrive in Kolkata on a chartered flight on October 1. This confirmed the team had not landed in India at the time of this storyβs publication on September 28.
According to Brazil's fixtures listed on ESPN, the team is scheduled to play another friendly against Australia in Brisbane on September 29.
A reverse search of the clipβs frames led us to a video uploaded to a Brazilian YouTube channel on September 24. In it, the ritual can be seen around the six-minute mark. According to the caption, this welcome ritual was performed for the Brazilian team by Aboriginal people, the original inhabitants of mainland Australia and Tasmania.
The ceremony, however, drew criticism after a few Brazilian players were seen laughing during the ritual. Australian outlets, including News.com.au, criticised the team's behaviour as disrespectful. The LADbible also slammed the players for showing ignorance towards Australia's traditional culture.
It is therefore evident that the viral video has nothing to do with India.- Ends
Riddhish Dutta is the Principal Correspondent at India Today Fact Check. With nearly a decade of experience in the digital news world, Riddhish is a keen observer of global politics. Before India Today, he had worked in newsrooms like TV9 Bangla. Riddhish has a profound love for sports, music, and travel.
