What they say:
Fact or Fiction: Samsung pulled its $1 billion sponsorship of the Paris Olympics because it didn’t agree with a “woke agenda.”
Rating:
It started out as satire (Archives | Snopes.com)
The idea that Samsung back out of a $1 billion ad deal with the 2024 Olympics in Paris because of a “woke agenda” spread like wildfire online. Take the claim made by @friends4_.life on July 30, 2024, for example: “Breaking: Samsung Withdraws $1 Billion Sponsorship from Paris Olympics, ‘Woke Agenda.'”
Even though Samsung has been an official sponsor of the Olympics for a long time, the rumor that the company back out of a $1 billion deal to support the Paris Olympics came from SpaceXMania, a group of websites that call their work “funny or satirical.”
Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics: A Controversy
The rumor was based on the fact that some watchers were confused about how to understand the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
People said that a scene during the opening event with drag artists, dancers, and others made them think of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” However, Thomas Jolly, a French theater director who choreographed and directed the opening event, said that the scene was a reference to the pagan customs of Ancient Greece. He also said that his goal wasn’t to make people think of “The Last Supper.”
Also, a blue-painted man with a beard in the scene was referring to Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and partying, not Jesus Christ as some watchers thought.
- Olympics Died: Paris Slammed for Worst Opening Ceremony Ever.
- Paris Olympics 2024 Hit by Major Problem: What’s Next?
Fact or Fiction: People on TikTok believed the Samsung-Olympics rumor.
Even though it said “satire” at the top of the picture in the TikTok post, some users still seemed to think the story was real.
One user’s reply, which had over 300 likes, said, “Every TV in my house is a Samsung.” Thanks for that.
“Thank you, Samsung,” said another user whose comment had hundreds of likes. It had three thumbs-up emojis attached.
Other comments that got a lot of likes were “Awesome!!!!!” and “Uhmm I might be looking into a Samsung phone!!” All of our TVs are!” The person who posted it on @friends4_.life also said, “Best thing I’ve seen in a long time.”
Fact or Fiction: Where the Rumor Came From
At the time this was written, a post about the claim on the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page of the SpaceXMania network had over 110,000 likes, 13,600 comments, and 17,000 shares. The words “Rated Satire” were written in the top left corner of the picture that went with the post. A page manager added the word “satire” to the end of the text caption on July 30. This can be seen in the post’s change history.
In the Facebook post, the pinned comment had a link to a story on esspots.com, the network’s website. The network also put out a similar story on SpaceXMania.com. A picture of that story can be seen in the TikTok post. This is how the article started:
Samsung Electronics has announced that it will not be participating in a $1 billion advertising effort with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This is a big change in the way companies sponsor events. It caused a lot of debate when Samsung said that the Olympics’ “woke agenda” was the main reason it was pulling out.
Disclaimer for SpaceXMania’s Satire
SpaceXMania.com’s “About Us” page says the following:
Hello and welcome to our website, which is owned and run by Funky Productions LLC. Our writing and editing group is based in New York, USA. What is our job? We’re going to give you the newest fake news, some sassy analysis, and a healthy amount of satire all centered around Elon Musk and everything that’s going viral or trending.
Now, let’s talk about our digital lair. It’s not just a website; it’s a hotspot on social media where we hang out, chat with you, share breaking news, and show off our newest satirical works. Just so you know, every story on our site is about as real as a unicorn drinking a rainbow smoothie. They’re just made up, people; they’re not real.
We’re proud to be the cool cats who give you a front-row seat to our big show of satire and fantasy news. Our funny writing? They are like a breath of fresh air and a break from the everyday. They make you laugh about things that our Tater friends would really relate to.
Snopes has dealt with other satirical claims involving the word “woke” in the past. For example, it was said that Jay Leno signed a multimillion-dollar deal with CBS for a “non-woke” late-night show, and it was said that actors Roseanne Barr and Tim Allen joined forces to create a new “non-woke” actors guild.
You may be wondering why we warn people about lies spread by people who say their work is funny or satirical.
