Claim: Futbol Club Barcelona has endorsed Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslin League Nawaz (PML-N) by sharing a post on X with multiple tiger emojis.
Fact: The tiger emoji in FC Barcelona’s post on X is a symbol for their footballer Vitor Roque, whose nickname is Little Tiger. It is not an endorsement of Nawaz Sharif or the PML-N.
On 31 January, FC Barcelona shared a post on X with 120 tiger emojis and no text. PML-N’s official X account shared that post with the caption “Nawaz is coming” and a tiger emoji, implying that the football club is endorsing Nawaz Sharif and the PMLN for the 2024 elections.
Fact or Fiction?
The FC Barcelona X account tweeted the post with 120 tiger emojis at 11:22 am, and two minutes later, they shared a 5-second clip saying “GOAL” with the caption “Goal Barca! Vitor Roque! 1-0 #BarcaOsasuna”.
After a few keyword searches on Google, we concluded that ‘Osasuna’ is the name of another football club and Vitor Roque is the name of a Brazilian professional football player who plays for FC Barcelona. On 31 January 2024, the clubs played against each other., FC Barcelona won because Vitor Roque scored one goal against Osasuna during the match on Wednesday, according to the ESPN website. Vitor Roque’s nickname is “Little Tiger”, according to The Athletic, Tribuna, and One Football.
Virality
The post on X was viewed more than 222,600 times and received over 2,899 interactions.
The claim was also shared on Facebook.
Conclusion: FC Barcelona did not endorse Nawaz Sharif and PML-N in the 2024 elections.
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Background image in cover photo: FC Barcelona
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