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Image Credit: The Indian Express, Lionel Messi/Wikipedia
The Woman Hugging Messi Is Not His Mother; Indian Media Shared Video With False Claim
Writer: Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
India, 25 Dec 2022 8:36 AM GMT
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Creatives : Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
Media outlets like India TV, Hindustan Times, Republic World, Times Now, Indian Express, NDTV, News24, etc, shared a video claiming that the woman seen in the viral video is Messi's mother. The Logical Indian Fact-Check team verifies the claim.
After Argentina defeated France in the FIFA world cup match, a video of a woman hugging Lionel Messi on the field went viral on social media with the claim that the woman seen in the viral video is Messi's mother, Celia Maria Cuccittini, who hugged him after their victory over France in the final.
Media outlets like India TV, Hindustan Times, Republic World, Times Now, Indian Express, NDTV, News24, etc, shared this video with the same claim.
Claim:
Viral video shows Messi hugging his mother, Celia Maria Cuccittini, after Argentina's victory over France in the final.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian Fact-Check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. The woman in the viral video is Argentina team's official cook - Antonia Farías.
During the initial investigation, we did a google keyword search and found a report of The Sun dated 18 December 2020 in which Lionel Messi can be seen hugging his mother Celia Maria Cuccittini. The photo's caption reads, "Messi enjoyed a special moment with his mother Celia Maria Cuccittini." However, on comparing the image, we found that the woman in the picture was wearing a purple T-shirt, while the woman in the viral clip was wearing the official jersey of the Argentina team.
We also noticed several other differences between the viral video and Messi's mother image. The length of their hair is different, the woman in the viral video was seen wearing a smartwatch and a tattoo on her arm. While in the pictures of Cuccittini posted on Getty images, we couldn't see a smartwatch on her wrist or any tattoo. Below you can see the comparison.
On searching more, we also found a report by The Sun dated 20 December 2020. According to the report, the woman seen in the video with Lionel Messi is Antonia Farias, the Argentina national football team cook.
We also found a tweet by EI Gourmet dated 20 December 2020 in which it was mentioned that the woman seen in the video is not Messi's mother but Antonia Farias, the cook of the Argentina national football team. The caption of the tweet reads in English, "At this moment, many of us think that it was Messi's mother who came to melt into a hug, but no, in reality it is even more important...She is in charge of cooking the Neapolitan Milanese for the entire Argentine team. Antonia Farías, champion and cook."
It is evident from our investigation that the woman in the viral video is not Messi's mother Celia Maria Cuccittini but Argentina's national team cook Antonia Farías, who hugged him after they won the final against France. Hence, the viral claim made by Indian media is false.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343
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