After Emmanuel Macron spoke about the deployment of NATO troops to Ukraine, our fact-checking department started documenting online disinformation aimed at defaming him and the French government. In this case, propagandists boosted the video with the TF1 logo with a story saying that companies that were on the list of sponsors for the 2024 Summer Olympics disappeared from those lists. We’ve analyzed the story and debunked it. 

What happened? 

On April 8, Russian telegram channels (Шейх Тамир, Шкварка News, Zanoza) started spreading the news about sponsors refusing to support the Olympic Games in Paris. 

The authors of the post say that Spotify, Lego, and Hochland were partners of the games in the past but have now disappeared from the list of sponsors. They add that these companies don’t comment on this information, but French economist Jacques Attali called their refusal to sponsor the Games a “collapse of the Olympics.” 

The post’s authors provide a video with the French channel TF1 logo. 

The video seemingly quotes Jacques Attali: “Olympics will begin in less than four months, but companies that sponsor them will disappear completely? That indicates one thing: we’re at the brink of international collapse.” 

Russian propagandist media like Mria, ZOV Kherson, and others also shared the post. 

Analysis 

First, we have checked the online resources of the French TF1 channel. These include their official website and social media pages on Х, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. 

We found out that TF1 didn’t publish the video report spread in the Telegram post or any news about the matter. 

Next, we’ve checked the resources of the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris. All official information is being published on Olympic Games Paris 2024’s official website and social media pages Х, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

There is no information about Spotify, Lego, or Hochland having been partners of Olympics 2024 in Paris. They aren’t listed among partners on Paris 2024’s official resources. 

Then, we checked the official resources of Spotify, Lego, and Hochland and confirmed that no one among these companies had published information about them sponsoring the Olympic Games 2024 in France. 

Video analysis 

The video posted in the news has a square 1080×1080 format, which is not typical for a channel that creates widescreen videos. It contains:

1. Logo with TF1 text in the top right corner of the screen. The logo is identical to the channel’s original logo. 

2. Overlaid white titles in French.

3. Background music without any voiceover.

4. Fragments of different videos and pictures that are available in open access. 

Other contents of the video:

  • Screen recording of a webpage displaying a list of the Games’ partners on the official website of the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris. 
  • Images that seem to be screenshots of a page with the Games’ partners on the official website of the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris. Lego is placed in the Official Partners section. Spotify and Hochland are in the Premium Partners section. The information in the description of these companies is incorrect. Lego is described as a legendary brand that fostered several generations since 1949, but LEGO Group was founded in 1932. For Hochland, inconsistencies are in the number of countries where the company branches are located (8 instead of 7) and the number of employees (5600 instead of 6178).
  • A fragment of opening remarks by Spotify’s founder, Daniel Ek, for Investor Day 2022 in June 2022. 
  • A selection of illustrative fragments of open-access videos, standard for Russian fake videos. Fragments are of the buildings with Olympic Games 2024 symbols, the Eiffel Tower, diving, and so on. 

Official reaction 

We approached Spotify, Lego, and Hochland, which are described as “sponsors who disappeared from the list of Olympic Games 2024 partners.” 

At the time of publishing this report, we received responses from Spotify and Hochland. Both companies said that the information in the video is a lie: they have never been sponsors for the Olympic Games 2024. 

 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed to our inquiry that the information provided in the Telegram post is fake. 

We also wrote to French writer and economist Jacques Attali, who, as the report says, said that sponsors are leaving the Olympic Games, which is proof of the “collapse” of the Games on the international level. 

In response, Attali confirmed that it’s fake that he’s never said this. 

In conclusion, the companies Spotify, Lego, and Hochland have never been on the list of Olympic Games 2024’s partners. Russian propaganda created another fake video story, using a logo of the French TF1 channel and pieces of open-access videos, pictures, and fake screenshots from the official website of Olympics 2024 to spread false information about the Games to create a false impression about their “collapse” and lack of support for France in the world. 

Conclusion: Fake 

Anna Ormanzhy debunked this fake, and Yana Sliemzina translated and adapted her text for English-speaking audiences. Support our fact-checking efforts on Patreon, BMC, or Paypal, and join us in the fight against Russian propaganda. 

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