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| - Fact Check: Are Chinese being barred in Australian supermarkets over Covid fears?
A video showing two men almost coming to blows is being circulated on Internet with the claim that Chinese are not being allowed in Australian supermarkets.
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India Today Fact Check
The argument seen in the viral video was about restriction on buying more than two baby formula tins in a Melbourne store.
The novel coronavirus that originated in China and has killed and infected lakhs all over the world has spurred hate messages against the Chinese on social media. Now, a video showing two men almost coming to blows is being circulated on Internet with the claim that Chinese are not being allowed in Australian supermarkets.
The 42-second clip, shot in a supermarket, shows an altercation between the two men, one of whom is wearing a mask and holding two tin containers. Supermarket officials intervene and ask the man in the mask and his woman friend to leave empty-handed. The caption along with the video says, "Chinese not allowed in supermarket, It's started in Australia...?"
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim along with the video to be misleading. The incident did take place recently in one of Australia's leading supermarkets in Melbourne. But the reason behind the altercation was not racism or alleged hatred against the Chinese.
The two men were arguing over buying more than two tins of baby formula. Some major retailers have maintained a limit of two baby formula tins per purchase to deter people from buying on behalf of others and shipping products overseas.
The post is viral on Facebook.
Some YouTube news channels such as "Global Herald News" have also run the video saying Chinese are not being allowed in Australian supermarkets.
With the help of InVID and reverse image search, we found that "Daily Mail" had published an article along with a screengrab from the viral video on April 11, 2020.
The headline of the article reads, "Shocking moment shoppers in face masks nearly come to blows during a heated argument over baby formula tins at a Big W as panic buying continues at major supermarkets".
We also found similar stories published by Australian news websites such as "7News" and “news.com.au”.
According to these news reports, the incident took place at a Big W store in Lilydale, Melbourne, recently. As per witnesses who shot the viral video and posted it on social media, a couple took four tins of baby formula in the Big W store. As they lined up for payment, an elderly man intervened and asked the man in the mask to drop two tins of baby formula.
This is followed by an altercation and when the man in the mask was about to get physical with the other person, supermarket authorities asked him to leave the store immediately and did not allow him to buy anything.
A Big W spokesperson in a statement has confirmed the incident to "Yahoo News Australia" and said that the store has a two-tin limit in place for more than 12 months.
"The customers had a disagreement and then were asked to leave our BIG W Lilydale store by a store team member and centre security, police involvement was not required," the spokesperson said.
We could not find any such incident reported by any credible Australian media that Chinese people are being stopped in supermarkets. Hence, it is confirmed that the incident has no connection with coronavirus or any purported hatred towards the Chinese in Australia as claimed in the viral post.
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