On July 30, Georgian-language social media users (1,2,3) shared information claiming that Samsung suspended its Olympic sponsorship due to an insult to Christian feelings and withdrew $1 billion.
The information that Samsung withdrew its Olympic sponsorship originates from a satirical publication. The tech company Samsung remains a partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and will continue its partnership with the IOC until 2028.
The claim that Samsung pulled out a $1 billion Olympic advertising campaign was initially spread on July 29 by the satirical website SpaceXMania. The article mentioned that the catalyst for this process was the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which received significant backlash from conservative audiences and religious groups, accusing the Olympics of promoting a “woke” agenda. However, it is important to note that this article on SpaceXMania is published under the “satire” category, and neither Samsung nor the IOC’s statements are presented in it.

The website’s mission statement indicates that SpaceXMania is owned and operated by Funky Productions LLC, and its goal is to provide readers with the freshest fake news and a good dose of satire.

Identical information was also spread on July 29 on the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page, though the post itself states that the information is satirical.

Samsung is still listed in the Olympic Partner Program (TOP), which is the highest level of Olympic sponsorship, granting exclusive, global marketing rights for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and Olympic teams worldwide. Notably, on July 29, Samsung published an article featuring Olympic medalists posing with Samsung phones gifted by the company. Additionally, an IOC spokesperson told Reuters that the information circulating on the internet is not true and that the IOC has a contract with Samsung until 2028. Several fact-checking platforms, including Snopes, have fact-checked the claims circulating on social media. The Paris Olympics opened on July 26. Several pieces of disinformation related to the event have already been debunked by “Myth Detector.”
- WHAT DO THE STEEL HORSE AND BULL’S HEAD AT THE PARIS OLYMPICS SYMBOLIZE?
- FABRICATED QUOTE ATTRIBUTED TO MEL GIBSON ABOUT THE PARIS OLYMPICS
- VIDEOMANIPULATION, AS IF THE PARIS OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY WAS PROTESTED EN MASSE
- THE LAST SUPPER OR GREEK MYTHOLOGY – WHAT DOES THE SCENE AT THE PARIS OLYMPICS DEPICT AND WHY DID THE ORGANIZERS APOLOGIZE?
- ALTERED PHOTO OF A RUSSIAN ATHLETE FALSELY LINKED TO PARIS OLYMPICS
About the Source
The Georgian-language Facebook account “Fantina Fantina” along with her other accounts regularly spreads false information. “Myth Detector” has debunked the false information disseminated by the user a number of times in the past.
Facebook user Teo Javelidze is a supporter of the “Conservative Movement” and one of the administrators of the Facebook group “Alternative for Georgia” connected to “Alt-Info”. Javelidze regularly publishes posts with anti-Western, anti-Ukrainian, and anti-opposition content. “Myth Detector” has verified the disinformation spread by the user a numbe of times in the past.
Facebook user Rati Kavelashvili is the owner of Facebook pages Orthodox news, Georgian page / Rati’s Page. False and manipulative content spread by these pages has been debunked by “Myth Detector” in the past as well.
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