The Battle Beyond the Games: Narrative Attacks Targeting the 2024 Summer Olympics

The Summer Olympics are here! And so are the cybersecurity challenges. Like so many other events, this year’s contest is at the center of controversies and narrative attack campaigns. Blackbird.AI’s RAV3N Research Team closely monitored online discussions using the Constellation Narrative Intelligence Platform and Compass by Blackbird.AI to gain insights into how online could potentially harm the institution and the host country’s reputation. 

LEARN MORE: What Is A Narrative Attack?

On November 13, 2023, Viginum – the French government’s technical and operational service responsible for vigilance and protection against foreign digital interference – reported that it suspected a network of Azerbaijani state-affiliated threat actors of having carried out a narrative attack campaign aimed at damaging France’s reputation and its ability to host the next Olympic Games. This operation allegedly arose in July 2023 – a year before the event – amid heightened diplomatic tensions between Paris and Baku as the French government openly supported Armenia in light of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. 

The Blackbird.AI RAV3N Narrative Intelligence team investigated further the existence of harmful narratives targeting the Paris 2024 Olympics from July 2023 until July 2024, particularly those calling for a boycott of the event on mainstream social media platforms – where such adverse discussions often enjoy heightened visibility facilitated by both organic and inauthentic bot amplification.

Within this specific timeframe, online posts not only triggered multiple engagement spikes by negatively portraying the state of human rights and security in France as indicated by the Viginum report, but also drew the International Olympic Committee (IOC) into more comprehensive information operations linked to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the Israel-Palestine conflict – using hashtag campaigns and inauthentic manipulation. At the same time, other lines of conversation targeted the Committee regarding the participation of transgender athletes or the French government for relying on illegal workers to build the event’s infrastructures. Other unfounded narratives attacked Macron’s administration for allegedly spending French taxpayers’ money to fund Paris 2024, asking pregnant women to give birth prematurely before the event and mishandling the capital’s hygiene standards. The Constellation Dashboard detected moderate to high levels of toxic content, bot-like activity, and unusual content propagation patterns in these discussions.

LEARN MORE: What is Cognitive Security?

The Blackbird.AI RAV3N team has identified several high-risk or potentially misleading narratives that were discussed across the internet.

Narrative 1: Opening ceremony “Last Supper” scene intended to poke fun at religion

The opening ceremony featured a controversial scene including drag performers and a nearly nude actor painted blue that many online posts interpreted as a parody of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” Posts on traditional social media platforms widely criticized Paris 2024 for targeting Christianity, while the producers made contradictory statements regarding the scene’s inspiration – explaining that it was inspired by the Greek god Dionysus and aimed to highlight the absurdity of human violence or acknowledging a reference to “The Last Supper.” The Paris 2024 organizers have since apologized for any offense caused and stressed that the scene was not intended to mock religious beliefs but to create a theatrical and festive tableau.

Narrative 2: Numerous terrorist organizations are preparing attacks against Paris 2024

This hyper-agenda-driven conversation used alarmist language to warn of alleged imminent terrorist plots targeting Paris 2024, with a focus on Islamist groups. Nearly 80% of the conversation focused on an alleged video from Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military movement Hamas, threatening that “rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris” due to the presence of Israeli athletes at the event. Posts used highly similar messaging quoting the video – in French and in English – and called on the world “to wake up” to the threat. According to multiple sources, including NBC News, the video is suspected to be a fabrication linked to Russian narrative attack efforts. At the same time, Hamas has denied any connection to the video –  labeling it as Israeli propaganda. On fringe platforms, posts leveraged this video to assert that allegedly weak Western leaders embolden terrorist groups. 

Narrative 3: Qatari security forces provide extra support for Paris 2024, a disgrace for France

Most English- and French-language posts denounced the presence of Qatari police forces patrolling the streets of Paris to provide additional security for the Olympics. Two lines of conversation emerged. The first one framed the news as Macron’s administration’s failure to protect France, resulting in what was perceived as Qatari control over the country. In the second rhetoric, key influencers accused the French government of sponsoring Islamist terrorist organizations, referencing Qatar’s significant financial aid to Gaza and the hosting of key Hamas leaders in Doha. The bot-like activity was detected at high levels, inauthentically amplifying videos of Qatari security forces in Paris, described as “urban guerrilla mode.” This narrative experienced its largest spikes in engagement on July 21 and 22 on traditional social media platforms and Telegram, with highly similar messaging. 

Narrative 4: The French government clears out migrants and homeless ahead of Paris 2024 

This narrative, primarily circulating on traditional social media platforms, consisted of reactions to the French government’s effort to relocate homeless people – many of whom are migrants – from Paris to other parts of the country. While the Macron administration has denied any direct connection to the upcoming Olympics, NGOs believe the Games are a factor in the timing of these relocations – allegedly more frequent as the event draws closer. The majority of social media posts mocked the operation, perceived as a pathetic attempt to hide a growing migrant/homeless crisis and insecurity from the public. A smaller subset of users called for a boycott of the event in English and French, arguing that this “social cleansing” is inhumane and opposite to France’s and the Olympics’ values of inclusivity and fraternity. These posts often highlighted a link between the evacuations and Paris 2024, showing images of newly installed concrete blocks to allegedly prevent migrants from settling in the areas where the Olympic flame is expected to pass. Bot-like activity was again present at high levels.

Narrative 5: Paris 2024 is too unsafe to attend 

This hyper-agenda-driven narrative targeted France’s ability to host many tourists during the Olympics due to insecurity issues and an alleged lack of security agents to cover the event. Comparing Paris to a “warzone” and a “third world wasteland” due to an alleged “Islamic crisis,” posts insisted that France is not safe despite many countries providing police reinforcements. 85% of post volume focused on July 23 reports that an Australian woman had been a victim of a gang raped by a group of “African migrants” in the capital. While the incident itself was confirmed, the ethnicity and migrant status of the suspects was not. Social media posts circulated simultaneously on mainstream and fringe platforms as well as on Telegram – frequently highlighting the short timeframe between the rape, other alleged criminal events, and the Olympics’ start to assert that “the world is about to see how bad Paris has become.” In addition, a few conspiratorial posts claimed that there would be hundreds of rape and robberies during the Olympics but that the media would not report any of them to preserve France’s reputation.

Narrative 6: France has banned its female Muslim athletes from wearing the hijab while competing in Paris 2024

Posts were pointed out on all platforms analyzed. They criticized French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra’s confirmation that French athletes would not be allowed to wear the hijab at the Paris Olympics, citing a strict regime of secularism and public service neutrality. A few posts perceived injustice in allowing Dutch volleyball player Steven van der Velde to compete, although he raped a 12-year-old British girl while forbidding hijabs. The majority of criticism was directed at France, accused of being the only country to violate the religious freedom of Muslim athletes, and the IOC for authorizing this restriction – perceived as contrary to the inclusiveness advocated at the Olympics. Other French-language posts reported that the UK had received a negative response to its request to allow Sikh and Muslim police officers providing security in Paris to wear their dastars and headscarves. 

Narrative 7: Key industries and performers call for strike action over the Olympics

This conversation was characterized by a majority of organic activity affiliated with over 73% of negative sentiment around reports that the performers and transport unions had given notice of strike action for the opening ceremony. The first spike in engagement occurred on July 18 and was linked to the announcement of the performers’ strike over unfair treatment. The second one occurred on July 22, with reports of the Paris Airports union’s strike, calling for better pay and bonuses. The majority of posts openly supported these actions or mocked France, arguing that the country would win the Olympics if there was a “striking” category. Posts on fringe platforms and Telegram channels leveraged the news to frame the event as chaotic and doomed to failure. 

Narrative 8: Paris 2024 infrastructure has turned the capital into a prison and demonstrates the government’s authoritarian turn

This conversation circulated mainly in French and benefited from foreign malign amplification, as self-described Parisians described the daily nightmare they allegedly experience in the capital as a result of the Olympics infrastructures. Negative sentiment was detected in 40% of posts, portraying introducing a QR code for getting around the city as unbearable for workers and evidence that the government is taking a totalitarian turn. High engagement posts frequently compared QR codes, massive barriers, and blocked traffic – perceived as turning French citizens into prisoners in their own country – to videos of Nazi Germany’s occupation during the Second World War. The highest engagement post was in English and attempted to raise awareness among tourists, claiming that these infrastructures were impractical for disabled individuals and NGOs allegedly prevented them from traveling around Paris to help vulnerable populations. Fringe platforms and Telegram channels spammed highly similar rhetoric, asserting that the government was using the Olympics as a pretext to implement mass surveillance – often referencing similar policies during the pandemic. These posts also relayed an article impersonating a well-known French media, titled “Paris races to control its rat population ahead of Olympics.”

Narrative 9: Israeli athletes are not welcome to Paris 2024

This narrative first circulated on traditional social media platforms and then on Telegram, as posts widely relayed French MP Thomas Portes’ statement that Israeli athletes were not welcome at the Paris Olympics and benefited from a double standard. While the highest engagement posts supported Portes, others demanded the dissolution of his party, accused him of threatening Israeli athletes’ safety, and compared his statement to similar anti-semitic threats aimed at Jewish athletes during the rise of Nazi Germany. 

Narrative 10: Palestinian flags are banned from Paris 2024

This conversation first emerged on Telegram and migrated to traditional social platforms, as identical rhetoric reported unverified claims that French police had been ordered to remove Palestinian flags while allowing flags from other countries during the Olympic torch run in Vitry-sur-Seine. Posts reacted mainly negatively to this assertion and called to boycott the event, amplified by foreign malign actors who pointed out that the Israeli president was invited to the opening ceremony. 

Narrative 11: Shame on Paris 2024 for denying Russian journalists access to the event

Most Russian, English, and French language posts denounced France’s decision to deny accreditation for Paris 2024 to Russian journalists out of caution and fear of espionage. The majority of posts on traditional social media platforms and Telegram channels compared France to a dictatorship cracking down on the media and repeatedly mentioned that over 4,000 Russians had been denied access – including journalists, volunteers, and stadium workers. Bot-like and anomalous activity were detected at moderate to high levels, as global media reported the Kremlin’s reaction that the decision was “unacceptable.”

Narrative 12: Paris 2024 will get canceled due to a heightened risk of civil war and terrorist attacks in the capital

This hyper-agenda-driven narrative first circulated in the Russian language across Telegram and quickly migrated across traditional platforms. Posts asserted that IOC President Thomas Bach might cancel/postpone Paris 2024 due to political instability related to the election. While the IOC debunked the claim, the majority of activity consisted of warning tourists to avoid the city due to high terrorist threats and violent riots. 

Narrative 13: Men can rape children and still go to the Olympics

Over 90% of posts in this narrative – one of the largest identified in terms of post volume – contained negative sentiment, blaming the Olympics for allowing Dutch volleyball player Steven van der Velde to compete. However, he raped a 12-year-old British girl. Posts unanimously reacted with outrage, citing previous athletes’ exclusion due to positive cannabis tests to argue that the Dutch Olympic Committee lacked fairness in not sanctioning van der Velde despite being a successful athlete. This narrative circulated simultaneously on fringe platforms, such as Telegram and traditional social media.

Narrative 14: Neutral Russian athletes boycott Paris 2024

Prominent influencers circulated Russian-state-affiliated news that Russian judokas and twelve Russian and Belarusian tennis players who received an invitation from the IOC will not participate in the Paris Olympics due to what they described as “humiliating conditions” set by the IOC. Posts primarily shamed the institution, leveraging this news to amplify long-standing rhetoric that the West constantly discriminates against Russia. This narrative first appeared on Telegram and was then amplified by prominent influencers on traditional social media platforms.

Narrative 15: Michael Phelps warns US Congress about doping threats to the Olympics

This narrative saw its highest engagement spike on July 1 on traditional social media, as several hyper-agenda-driven influencers – accounting for 18% of post volume – and global media outlets reported that Michael Phelps – the most decorated Olympic swimmer – testified before a U.S. House subcommittee on June 25, 2024, that doping issues among 23 Chinese swimmers allegedly threatened the integrity and future of the Olympic Games. Phelps highlighted that these athletes had tested positive for a banned substance before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but were allowed to compete, raising concerns regarding the effectiveness and independence of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The hearing was part of an effort to pressure WADA to release information on the doping cases and to consider withholding U.S. funding until reforms are made. The majority of posts accused the Chinese government of covering up the scandal through censorship and expressed frustration towards the IOC and the WADA for allowing the accused swimmers to compete, describing them as “compromised by China.”

Narrative 16: It is unfair that transgender and nonbinary American runner Nikki Hiltz qualifies for Paris 2024

This narrative sparked polarized reactions online, with posts primarily reporting on the announcement and both supporting and criticizing the inclusion of a transgender athlete at Paris 2024 on traditional social media platforms and fringe ones. High-engagement posts portrayed the news as the Olympics adopting an unfair “woke” stance – arguing that the women’s category should only accept athletes from that gender and frequently referencing Hiltz as a “biological man.” Bot-like activity was detected at high levels, primarily boosting the visibility of this rhetoric.

Narrative 17: South Korean Olympic torchbearer and singer-songwriter Jin should call for a ceasefire in Palestine and a ban of Israel from the Olympics 

This narrative was spread in a highly coordinated manner on traditional social media platforms – as evidenced by 82% of anomalous activity detected on social media posts calling for BTS K-Pop star Jin to “use his voice” to support Palestine at the Olympics. Typical rhetoric directly mentioned BTS, including the #SpeakYourselfBTS campaign, and referenced Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), the nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. 

Narrative 18: The Seine river is dangerously contaminated and will not be swimmable for Paris 2024

Most posts circulated in French—first on Telegram and then migrated to traditional social media platforms—repeatedly blaming the French government for high levels of fecal bacteria in the river, which pose a significant health risk. Despite extensive efforts to clean the river, including a 1.4 billion euro investment in upgrading the sewage system, pollution remains a concern, especially after heavy rainfall. Social media posts repeatedly described the administration as dramatically failing all projects meant to benefit the country and wasting taxpayers’ money.

Narrative 19: Paris is neglected and dirty ahead of the Olympics

Over 22% of bot-like activity was detected in this conversation solely circulating on traditional social media platforms, asserting that Paris will lack tourists during the Olympics due to the capital’s filth. Posts were circulated in a highly coordinated fashion, nearly all of them including #SaccageParis – translating as “Trashed Paris” – a hashtag widely used in recent years as part of a political smear campaign aimed at Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo. The majority of posts claimed that the city was unprepared for such a large-scale event – citing recurring traffic congestion, dirty streets, inconvenient infrastructures, and graffiti tags – and included footage of homeless people on the streets. The highest engagement spike occurred on June 30, the first round of the legislative elections.

Narrative 20: Paris 2024 will not provide air conditioning for athletes

This conversation centered around 2023 news that the Athletes Village would not include traditional air-conditioning systems as part of a broader effort to reduce the Games’ carbon footprint and make them the most sustainable Olympics to date. Reactions were sharply polarized between climate change deniers criticizing this decision perceived as a wider “green propaganda” campaign and other posts mocking American teams bringing their portable AC units. A subset of this conversation consisted of foreign malign actors supporting China’s decision to provide their athletes with AC units. This narrative circulated simultaneously on Telegram and traditional social media platforms.

Narrative 21: France provides cardboard beds to discourage sexual encounters during the games

As at the Tokyo Olympics, athletes’ beds at the Paris 2024 will consist of a cardboard slatted base and a mattress that can be adjusted to suit individual morphology and needs. Again this year, online publications reacted by spreading unfounded claims that athletes will be sleeping in these cardboard beds built to prevent them from having sex. Yet the beds were never designed for this purpose, as the director of the company that designed them explained that these cardboard beds were made so that three or four people could jump on it in the interest of environmental sustainability. Other foreign malign actors on Telegram leveraged the controversy to denigrate the French government, claiming it is implementing stingy policies.

Learn More: Why Government Leaders and Policymakers Need Narrative Risk Intelligence

Narrative 22: Boycott Paris 2024 because France is a cruel and discriminatory country 

Featuring images of previous riots in Paris, many used a variety of hashtags such as #Paris2024 and #BoycottParis24 to propagate and amplify claims that French citizens are victims of growing islamophobia, discriminatory aggressions as well as a fascist drift driven by the government – thus justifying the alleged need to boycott the upcoming Olympics Games. Specifically, they leveraged the recent murder of Nahel Merzouk – a French 17-year-old of Moroccan and Algerian descent who was killed by a police officer in June 2023 – as well as large-scale violent demonstrations following his death that were put down by the police to bolster their argument. Meanwhile, other posts circulated links to online petitions to relocate the event. They asserted that the values of equality and diversity promoted by the Olympics are incompatible with those of France, allegedly persecuting minority groups. Our Constellation software indicated that nearly 15% of users were affiliated with bot-like activity, indicating an attempt to amplify this narrative inorganically.

Narrative 23: Boycott Paris 2024 for hosting Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals

The largest conversation of this dataset – involving 29% of users identified as bots – targeted the IOC as “unethical” and “corrupt” for considering allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the event, as IOC officials were then debating the issue and argued a total ban could be considered discrimination. Posts included portraits of Ukrainian athletes allegedly killed by Russian strikes and extensively circulated hashtags such as #BanRussianAthletes, #NoRussiaParis2024, #RussiaIsANaziState, #PutinIsaWarCriminal or #genocide, accusing the IOC – notably its President Thomas Bach – of privileging financial gains over morality and of being “pro-Russian.” The conversation notably spiked again on July 1, with posts targeting specific Russian athletes as falsely neutral and allegedly linked to the Kremlin.

Learn More: Court-side seats to a tournament of narrative attacks

Narrative 24: Boycott Paris 2024 for excluding Russia and Belarus from the competition

This counter-narrative was portrayed from the perspective that the IOC serves the West’s interests and lacks discernment between sports and politics. These claims were triggered on July 14, 2023, as the IOC announced that the two countries would not receive formal invitations to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris. Many bots framed this narrative under a dichotomy between the West and the “global South,” advocating for creating new Olympic Games made up of BRICS nations. These posts also called for solidarity with Russia and Belarus, accusing the IOC of corruption and of a “double standard” with the inclusion of athletes from Western countries allegedly perpetrating war crimes. 

Learn More: The World Economic Forum: Narrative Attacks are the #1 Global Risk

Narrative 25: Boycott Paris 2024 for building its event using modern slavery

Most French-language posts – including 14.3% displaying negative sentiment as shown by Constellation – shared that the city of Paris relied on many illegal workers to build the event’s infrastructures. A few of these posts asserted that dozens of workers had died on the construction site, denouncing alleged political and media silence on the issue.

Narrative 26: Boycott Paris 2024 if the IOC allows transgender athletes to compete

Others encouraged female athletes to refuse to compete against transgender individuals if they played in the same category, which they portrayed as a women’s rights initiative to prevent the alleged “extinction” of female victories due to unfair competition. This narrative emerged despite World Athletics’ official ban on transgender women who have undergone male puberty competing in women’s events. Although post volume related to this conversation was low, 40.5% of users were affiliated with bot-like activity. 

Learn More: Social Media Narrative Attack Readiness and Response Checklist

Narrative 27: Boycott Paris 2024 if Israel is allowed to take part in the event

This narrative saw the largest engagement spike on April 19, with various posts calling for a boycott of the Olympics if the IOC did not ban Israel from the event. Circulating in English and French language, this conversation pointed to an alleged paradox between Israel’s participation in the event and the country’s involvement in bombing campaigns targeting Palestine. Most common rhetoric highlighted a perceived sense of injustice between Israel’s inclusion in the Olympics and Russia being invited under a neutral banner. 

Narrative 28: Boycott Paris 2024, as the French government asks pregnant women to induce premature deliveries 

This narrative again showed clear signs of bot-like behavior. It consisted of French-language accusations that the Ministry of Health had asked pregnant French women to give birth prematurely to avoid overloading hospitals during the Olympics – portrayed as an “appalling drift” for a country “once at the cutting edge of medicine.” Posts circulated this claim and a video deceptively labeled as a “TF1” story  – a popular French cable channel – to bolster the narrative’s credibility. According to the doctored video, women with due dates between 22 and 28 July should give birth before the opening ceremony to be reimbursed 50% of pregnancy-related medical costs or give birth “in other regions of France” and receive compensation of 25% of the amount spent on medical services.

Learn More: Narrative Risk Intelligence for Communications Teams

Narrative 29: Boycott Paris 2024, as the event is not safe due to poor hygiene conditions in the capital 

This conversation primarily consisted of recommendations not to attend the Olympics due to alleged bed bug outbreaks in Paris, which was repeatedly described as a dirty city. With high negative sentiment, posts also circulated claims of rat invasion and fecal matter in mineral water amid an event perceived as doomed to turn into an epic fail “without Russia’s help.” Similarly, a few posts denied the Kremlin’s potential influence in spreading narrative attacks regarding bed bug infestations in autumn 2023, asserting that poor hygienic conditions in France can only be attributed to alleged government incompetence.

This campaign to boycott the forthcoming Paris Olympics brought together many social media narratives affiliated with divergent ideologies with the common aim of targeting the ethical reputation of the IOC and damaging France’s image by sowing public mistrust in its ability to host the Olympics. This case study demonstrates that it is essential for organizations and governments hosting large-scale events visible worldwide to actively monitor public perception online to mitigate reputational risks and effectively control the narrative using Blackbird.AI’s Constellation Narrative Intelligence Platform and Compass by Blackbird.AI.

The narratives around this year’s Summer Olympics serve as a reminder of the power of narrative attacks to shape public perception and the potential for narrative attacks to undermine even the most prestigious events. It is increasingly crucial for organizations and governments to monitor and address harmful narratives proactively. By leveraging advanced narrative intelligence tools like Compass by Blackbird.AI and the Constellation Narrative Intelligence Platform, leaders and decision-makers can effectively identify, analyze, and respond to the ever-evolving landscape of online narratives.

To learn more about how Blackbird.AI can help you in these situations, book a demo.