Fact check: Image in viral post shows Siberian newborn who weighed 17.1 pounds
The claim: Image shows Indonesian baby boy who weighed 19.2 pounds at birth
In a June 14 post, some Facebook users celebrated an image of a newborn who according to the caption weighed in at more than 19 pounds.
“This big bouncing bubba is Indonesian newborn Muhammad Akbar Risuddin (who) was born at an astonishing weight of 19.2lbs!! SOMEONE GET THAT WOMAN A BEER!!” the post reads.
Facebook users shared joy as well as concern for the mother. The post drew more than 3,000 comments and 33,000 shares in the first week.
But the caption is wrong.
The baby in the picture is actually a girl named Nadia, born in Russia on Sept. 17, 2007, who weighed 17.1 pounds at birth, according to Reuters.
USA TODAY reached out to the user for comment.
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Image is from 2007
Reuters previously debunked the claim, noting the original image was taken by the agency in 2007.
“Baby girl Nadia, who weighed 7.75 kg (17.1 lbs) after birth, is seen in a maternity ward in the Siberian city of Barnaul (on) September 26, 2007. One Siberian mother has done more than her fair share to heal Russia’s dire population decline,” reads the image description, which credits the photo to Andrey Kasphrisin.
The baby’s mother is Tatyana Khalina, and Nadia was her 12th child, according to the photo, which is part of a slideshow.
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Muhammad Akbar Risuddin, the baby boy mentioned in the Facebook post, was born two years after Nadia, according to Getty Images.
The caption for the photo, which credits Ardiles Rante/Barcroft Media/Getty Images, says Muhammad was born on Sept. 25, 2009, in Medan, Indonesia. He weighed 19 pounds, 6 ounces and was Indonesia’s biggest ever newborn.
Another Getty image shows a nurse holding baby Muhammad.
Our rating: False
The claim that an image posted on Facebook shows an Indonesian baby boy who was born weighing 19.2 pounds is FALSE, based on our research. The picture, taken by Reuters in 2007, shows a baby girl named Nadia, who weighed 17.1 pounds and was born in Siberia. A large baby was born in Indonesia, but he’s not shown in the picture and actually weighed a bit more at 19 pounds, 6 ounces.
Our fact-checking sources:
- Reuters, June 21, Fact Check-Photograph shows the wrong large baby
- Reuters, Oct. 26, 2007, The world’s fattest baby, Siberia and beetroot soup
- Getty Images, Sept. 25, 2009, Indonesia’s biggest Ever Newborn Weighs 19lb 6ozs
- Getty Images, Sept. 25, 2009, Indonesia’s biggest Ever Newborn Weighs 19lb 6ozs
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