Separated by war, reunited by sport (28/7/2021)

A photo circulating on social media shows brothers Muhammad and Alaa Masu embracing during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Friday, 7/23/2021. Muhammad is a triathlete for the Syrian team while Alaa is a swimmer for the refugee team. The viral image was purported to capture the moment the brothers were reunited after the war kept them separated for seven years, but the truth is that both have been refugees in Germany since 2015. The brothers applied to represent the Syrian team in the Olympics, but Alaa did not receive a response and thus participated in the refugee team.