From opening ceremony slip-ups to videos from athletes sharing secrets from the Olympic Village, your social feeds may well be wall-to-wall Olympics!
However, with the vast number of stories being posted and shared on socials everyday, how can you tell the real stories from the fake news? Let's take a look at some of the Olympic-themed stories that are doing the rounds on socials.
1. Australia have brought a team of baristas to the Olympic Village - TRUE
Athletes travel from all over the world to the Olympic Village and some familiar comforts like a nice cup of coffee will help them feel right at home. Rumours that the Australian Olympic Team have brought a group of coffee baristas to the Games are true! As well as enough coffee beans to brew 20,000 cups of coffee, they've also shipped over lots of products from down under, including 50kg of Vegemite and 1400kg of Australian breakfast cereal.
Baristas have been a part of the Australian Olympic experience since Tokyo 2020, where around 600 coffees a day were served to athletes.
2. French military flypast accidentally displays Russian flag - FALSE
The Olympic torch was welcomed by a French military flypast as it arrived in Marseille on its way to Paris, but a photo which has been viewed more than two million times appeared on X, showing the aircraft supposedly releasing a trail of white, blue, and red smoke in the sequence of the Russian flag, rather than the blue, white, and red of the French. However, this image has been taken out of context. The photograph is suggesting that the planes are in an incorrect sequence, but it is just the angle of the photo that makes the trails appear this way. The live feed from the official Olympics YouTube channel, filmed from a different angle showed the smoke in the correct order (of the French flag).
Using unedited photographs out of context is another way misinformation can be spread. You should always check the source of any content you see online that doesn't seem quite right, and do your own background research.
3. There is a second Olympic Village in Tahiti - TRUE
The main Olympic Village is in Paris, but there is also a second Olympic Village on a boat moored in Tahiti, a French Polynesian island in the Pacific Ocean. The island is staging the Olympic surfing competitions despite being more than 9,000 miles away from Paris. The surfers are staying on a luxurious cruise ship called the Aranui 5, which features a gym, spa, and swimming pool.
4. Cosmetics company helps clean up the River Seine - FALSE
The River Seine is hosting some swimming events at the games, but with stories circulating about the river's low level of cleanliness, one cosmetic company posted a video on Instagram showing a giant bottle of skin serum on a river barge miraculously cleansing the dirty river. However, it was created using CGI as part of an advertising campaign for cosmetic company Caudalie. You can find out more about how to spot CGI and deepfake videos here.
The River Seine hosted the opening ceremony of the Olympics and is also home to the swimming marathon and swimming leg of the triathlon. The men's triathlon was postponed by a day as the water in the Seine wasn't deemed safe enough to swim in, but it did take place the following day. Swimming was banned in the River Seine since 1923 due to dirty water, which contains high levels of the E. coli bacteria, however, an expensive new sewage system was installed ahead of the Games to clean up the water and make it safe for swimmers.
5. The Olympic Village has a boulangerie (bakery) on site - TRUE
With more than 14,000 athletes staying there during the Games, the Olympic Village is a hub of activity and it even has its own boulangerie! Team GB hockey player Fiona Crackles gave a tour of some of the food options at the Village on her TikTok, which includes a canteen, supermarket, and boulangerie. Each day, the onsite bakery serves up more than 2,000 baguettes, croissants, pain au chocolat, and focaccia to athletes. Olympians can even have lessons from a professional baker who will show them how to make a baguette. TikToks showing the Olympic Village have been going viral since the athletes moved in, and it's also home to a bank, hair salon, and a post office.
Not sure if the news you’re seeing on social media is true or false? Can you always tell if the things you see online are real or fake? Learn how to get the other side of the story with our quizzes, videos and explainers.
