Several media outlets have presented a story about an extravagantly muscle-bound Iranian man, Sajad Gharibi, going to Syria to fight against the jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group. The story is appealing, but the truth is significantly different. Gharibi has in fact never claimed that he is planning to go fight in Syria.

The bodybuilder, 24, is proportioned like a giant and boasts 156,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts photo after shirtless photo of himself. This week he drew attention from media around the world, which have given him the nicknames “Iranian Hulk” and “Persian Hercules.” He posted with pride about these titles on his social media accounts.

However, several media outlets, such as The Daily Mail, the BBC and The Independent, also reported that he intended to go do battle against the militants of the Islamic State group in Syria.

Initially published on France24 on 07/11/2016
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