Olympics

Does a video show an Olympic Games athlete vomit as a direct result of swimming in Paris' Seine? No, that's not true: The athlete shown throwing up after his triathlon faulted the Parisian heat rather than the Seine. Although the river's water quality was poor in the days preceding the triathlon, there is no evidence that it caused Olympic athletes…

Did Vice President Kamala Harris say, "Today we celebrate the Olympics. Because Olympians are Olympic, & they are at the Olympics being Olympian, so it's more important now than ever to support their Olympianism"? No, that's not true: Harris' spokesperson said that's not something she said. It is a parody of a manipulated Harris quote that Lead Stories debunked previously.…

Does a video circulating on social media show thousands of Christians in France gathered to pray after the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony purportedly mocked Jesus? No, that's not true: The video shows people gathered in Rosary Square in Lourdes, France, on August 14, 2022 -- the eve of the annual Feast of the Assumption. This video does not show…

Did massive power outages occur in Paris on July 27, 2024, the day after the Olympics opening ceremony? No, that's not true: The energy company responsible for the power outages said power was restored within 10 minutes and that 85,000 residential clients were affected, while the Paris metropolitan area has a population of 11 million. The power cuts were not…

Does a picture going viral on social media show Israeli swimmers making the phrase "Bring them home now" with their bodies during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics? No, that's not true: The photo was taken in 2023 and posted to social media at that time. Also, it was taken at a pool in Israel, more than 2,600 miles from the…

Is Nikki Hiltz a biological man as a post on X claimed? No, that's not true: Hiltz was assigned female at birth. Hiltz has openly identified as transgender and nonbinary, opting for they/them gender pronouns, since 2021. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly known as Twitter, on July 2, 2024. Above an image of Hiltz…

Is Israel out of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, as of June 24, 2024, as was claimed in a social media post? No, that's not true: As of this writing, Israel remains on the list of 206 national teams entered to compete. Lead Stories could find no evidence that would corroborate the claim that Israel was "out of the…

Did Team USA lose $60 million in endorsements after Caitlin Clark was not placed on the 2024 USA Basketball Women's Olympic Team? No, that's not true: the Indiana Fever WNBA player is indeed not on the team but the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee told Lead Stories that the claim about losing endorsements is "not true." A representative of…

Did the CIA issue a warning to U.S. citizens to avoid using the Paris Metro during the 2024 Summer Olympics? No, that's not true: No official statements or credible sources confirm such a warning as of June 18, 2024. Additionally, warnings and travel advisories are typically issued by the U.S. State Department, not the CIA. The claim appeared in a…

Did Caitlin Clark replace Brittney Griner on the Team USA women's Olympic basketball team due to rule-breaking by Griner? No, that is not true: The website the claim originated from is self-described as satirical and says on its "About Us" page that its content is "the freshest fake news." As of publication date, rookie sensation Clark had not been offered…