Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec, who won the silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event alongside teammate Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, became an overnight sensation on social media. He gained attention for his dressed-down, low-tech look and nonchalant composure during the competition. Unlike other shooters, he was seen shooting casually, with one hand in his pocket, wearing regular glasses and a T-shirt, and forgoing typical shooting gear. Amid this, a photo of a man holding a mirror in one hand and a gun in the other, aiming backwards, is being widely shared across social media platforms with the claim that the photo is from the ongoing Paris Olympics (here, here, and here). This picture also features the Paris Olympics boards in the background. Through this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Photo showing an athlete aiming at a target backwards by looking at the reflection in a mirror during the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics.
Fact: The viral photo is edited. A picture showing Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec’s participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics has been altered with visuals of a Thai comedian shooting backwards in a comedy show named “Ching Roi Ching Lan.” Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To verify the viral claim, we conducted a Google reverse image search. This search led us to a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) by “Thai Enquirer,” a media outlet in Thailand, on 02 August 2024. The post contained a collage of multiple Olympic shooters, including the viral photo. The caption of the photo reads, “Another shooter has entered the scene: Thai comedian Pongsak ‘Theng Therdtherng’ Pongsuwan.” This search also led us to multiple posts on X (formerly Twitter) calling the viral photo photoshopped and sharing the original source of the viral photo (here, here).
If one carefully observes the collage shared in this post, the background of the viral photo is identical to the photo of Turkish shooter and Olympic silver medalist Yusuf Dikec. By comparing the viral photo with this photo showing Yusuf Dikec’s participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics, it is clear that the backgrounds in both photos are the same. A comparison between the original photo of Dikec and the viral photo can be seen below.
Thai Enquirer mentioned the man featured in the viral photo as Thai comedian Pongsak Pongsuwan. Taking this cue, we conducted a relevant keyword search, which led us to the Thai news organization Khaosod’s website. According to the report, Pongsak Pongsuwan is a comedian known for his appearances on “Ching Roi Ching Lan,” a comedy show. It also mentioned that a clip from this show is going viral and competing with Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç’s video.
Further search led us to a video of the comedy show featuring Pongsak Pongsuwan on the official YouTube channel of ‘Workpoint Official’, uploaded on 15 August 2019. In the video, Pongsuwan can be seen using a mirror to aim backwards and shoot at a balloon behind his back. At the 3:10 mark, he can be seen in the same pose as in the viral photo. According to the description of the video, it is from the Ching Roi Ching Lan show, which is aired every Sunday. The English translation of the title reads, “3 Cha Duel Guns (Original Meme Image Teng Olympic 2024) | Ching Roi Ching Lan Wow Wow Wow!”. From all this, it is clear that the viral photo is edited. A picture showing Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç’s participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics has been altered with visuals of a Thai comedian shooting backwards in a comedy show.
To sum up, an altered photo of a Thai comedian performing in a TV show is being shared as a man competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
