Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 5/8/2024; Author: Marko Vukajlović
The unexpected hero of this year’s Olympic Games is Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec. Within just a few days, he became an internet sensation due to his unusual performance in France. But you have probably already heard about him.
However, if you have been following social media, you might have gotten a completely wrong impression of the man.
In one viral post, it was claimed: (archived: here)
Yusuf Dikec, who only recently started shooting after a particularly intense argument with his ex-wife, attributes his success at the Paris Olympics to his newfound passion for seeing his children and his relentless desire to prove his ex-wife wrong. “I never thought I’d be here,” Jusuf said, shrugging nonchalantly. “I was just aiming for a weekend with my kids.” The 52-year-old, who works as a mechanic in a small garage in Istanbul, first picked up a gun during a particularly frustrating divorce mediation…
And in some of the reposts on Facebook, additional comments were added: 1, 2 (archived: 1, 2)
BEHIND EVERY SUCCESSFUL MAN IS A WOMAN!
WHEN YOU SEE YOUR EX-WIFE IN THE TARGET AND EVERY SHOT HITS THE CENTER…
Dikec has been competing since 2001
Despite his sudden global recognition, there is limited information about Dikec. His lack of public speaking only increases the sense of mystery. However, what is known is that Dikec did not recently start shooting. According to the Olympic Games website, he began shooting in 2001, and the site lists his numerous competitions. Global media report:
“Dikec is no stranger to shooting: Paris 2024 is his fifth Olympics, having represented Turkey in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 beforehand. He also holds several World and European Championships titles for various pistol events.”
The story originated from a meme page
The controversial posts are actually a translation of a satirical story from the “The Sports Memery” meme page. They posted the heartwarming story about Dikec on August 1st. At the end of the post, it clearly states: (archived here)
“This is a satirical post. We are a clearly labeled satire/parody page.”
This topic was also covered by colleagues at Snopes.
Since the controversial posts did not indicate that they were satire, as the original English post did, they are rated as fake news.
The “Fake news” rating is given to an original media report (completely produced by the media that published it) that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be reliably determined to have been created and disseminated with the intent to misinform the public, that is, to present a completely false claim as fact.
