Claim: Multiple world leaders have reportedly fallen ill, after attending BRICS summit in India.
Conclusion: The claim is false. The 18th BRICS Summit did take place in New Delhi on September 12–13, 2026, but there is no credible evidence that multiple world leaders fell ill as a result of attending it. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa did fall ill after returning from the BRICS summit in New Delhi, India, but reports claiming multiple world leaders fell sick is not true.
Rating: False 
Several social media users have claimed that multiple world leaders have fallen sick after attending the 18th BRICS summit held in New Delhi, India. Verified X account ‘Polymarket’ shared such a claim with the caption : “JUST IN: Multiple world leaders have reportedly fallen ill, after attending BRICS summit in India.” Attached to the post are images of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Indian flag. The post gained over 18 million views and can be seen below –
JUST IN: Multiple world leaders have reportedly fallen ill, after attending BRICS summit in India. pic.twitter.com/giwWZroEBh
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) September 17, 2026
Other users have shared similar claims that can be seen here and here
FACT CHECK
DigitEYE India decided to investigate this claim and found it to be false. The 18th BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi on September 12–13, 2026. Although South African President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly fell ill after returning from the summit, there is no credible evidence that several world leaders became sick as a consequence of attending the event. Therefore, claims suggesting that multiple leaders fell ill following the summit are unsupported and not true.
Details:
The 18th BRICS Summit was held on 12–13 September 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” Hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the summit brought together world leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The event focused on global governance, economic cooperation, international conflicts and sustainable development.
We first conducted a web search with the phrase “multiple world leaders sick after attending 18th BRICS summit” to learn more. According to an official statement by the South African government, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office stated that, due to ill health, he has been booked off from public engagements. He has been advised by his medical team to rest and recover after returning from the summit on Monday. He has asked the respective Ministers to represent him at scheduled public engagements.
Following this, we conducted a web search to learn about the health of other world leaders that attended the BRICS summit. Credible reporting finds no confirmed illnesses among other attending leaders (including from Russia, Brazil, or elsewhere). Speculation about a common cause such as food poisoning or summit-related factors lacks any supporting medical, official, or journalistic verification.
DigitEYE India came across a report, claiming that Chinese President Xi Jinping suffered a stroke following the September 12–13 BRICS Summit in New Delhi. The report cited X user Wanjun Xie, who alleged that Xi “fainted during the New Delhi summit,” received emergency assistance, and was later taken by military helicopter to Beijing’s 301 Hospital. However, the report also states that these claims are not verified, view a screenshot below.
We found Wajun Xie’s official X post where he made such a claim. In another post, Xie further claimed that an expert team diagnosed Xi with an “ischaemic stroke” and that he missed a critical treatment window by returning to Beijing instead of seeking treatment in India. However, neither Chinese nor Indian authorities have confirmed any medical emergency and the claims are unverified.
According to witnesses, after Xi Jinping returned to China from India, his plane arrived at Beijing Airport, and he was carried off the plane and taken away by a military helicopter. He was then rushed to Beijing 301 Hospital for emergency treatment.
Previously, when Xi Jinping… pic.twitter.com/rtA57Z6tdS
— Wanjun Xie (@xie_wanjun) September 15, 2026
Lastly, the Ministry of External Affairs fact check unit also debunked such claims. They wrote how these claims were “Misleading” and warned against “such malicious posts on social media platforms!” View the post below –
⚠️ Misleading!
We caution against such malicious posts on social media platforms! pic.twitter.com/YvsNEQ3Jy2
— MEA FactCheck (@MEAFactCheck) September 17, 2026
Thus, the claim is false.
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