The Summer Olympics 2024, hosted by France, commenced on 26 July 2024 and will end on 11 August 2024. The Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games feature 329 events in 32 sports. The opening ceremony took place along the River Seine instead of in a stadium, marking the first time a Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held outside a traditional stadium setting. The parade of athletes was conducted as a boat parade along the Seine from Pont d’Austerlitz to Pont d’Iéna. The closing ceremony is scheduled to be held at Stade de France on 11 August 2024.
In this context, a photo of a woman wearing a red, green, and black outfit holding an archery bow against a white background is being widely shared across social media platforms with the claim that this is the outfit of Chinese athletes for the Paris Olympics 2024, inspired by the Palestinian flag (here, here, & here).
Claim: Photo showing China’s Olympic uniform for the 2024 Olympic Games, which was inspired by the Palestinian flag.
Fact: This viral photo was featured in a 2023 issue of Vogue China magazine and does not show China’s Olympic uniform for the 2024 Olympic Games. China’s uniform for the Paris Olympics features red and white colors. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
If we observe the viral photo, we notice the watermark reading “Vogue” at the bottom-right corner of the viral photo. Further, to verify the viral claim and learn more about the image, we conducted a Google reverse image search. This search led us to a post on X (formerly Twitter). The caption of the post stated that it shows He Cong, a Chinese supermodel, on the cover of VOGUE China. This post was shared on 11 August 2023, before the recent conflict between Israel and Palestine began in October 2023. From this, it is clear that the photo has no connection with Palestine or the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Taking a cue, we performed a relevant keyword search on Google, which led us to a website called Design Scene that carried photos and details of this story. According to it, VOGUE China dedicated its September 2023 edition to “the spirit of athleticism” to honour the celebration of the Hangzhou Asian Games. We also found the cover story on Vogue China’s website, which included the viral photo along with several other images of He Cong. The magazine article features pictures of the model posing with various athletic equipment, including a javelin, volleyball, and fencing sword. Cong is pictured wearing a black and green outfit with a backdrop of both blue and red fabric. The Vogue article did not mention the photo shoot being inspired by or dedicated to Palestine.
Instagram posts by VOGUE China in August 2023 (here and here) mentioned that the inspiration was the Asian Games but said nothing about Palestine. This confirms that the viral photo was part of the magazine’s photoshoot for the September 2023 issue celebrating sports and that it was not a political statement. He Cong also shared the cover photo of Vogue China on her Instagram page. The shoot’s stylist, Vivienne Sun, shared the photo on Instagram as well, specifying that it was dedicated to the Asian Games. Vogue China’s article and Instagram posts reference the Hangzhou Asian Games, that were held in China from 23 September 2023 to 08 October 2023.
China’s Olympic uniforms, unveiled in June 2024, consist of red pants and a white T-shirt or jacket. The black and green colours prominent in the Palestinian flag are not included. The jackets and shirts feature the Chinese flag, the Olympic Games logo, and the logo of the Chinese sportswear brand Anta, which designed the uniforms. We also found the Chinese team’s official outfits on Getty Images (here, here, here). According to reports, Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed support for Palestinians on several occasions, pledging additional humanitarian aid to Gaza and condemning Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories (here, here).
To sum up, an old photo from Vogue China magazine is being falsely shared as showing Chinese athletes wearing the colours of the Palestinian flag.
