A report is circulating online that South Korean electronics conglomerate Samsung pulled out of a $1 billion advertising campaign with the Olympics due to the sports event becoming politically progressive. It is satire.
Posted on July 30, a Facebook (FB) post featured a photo with the text:
“Breaking: Samsung Drops Out of $1 Billion Advertising Campaign with Olympics, ‘They’ve Gone Woke'”
In its comment section, the FB page attached a link that redirects to an ad-filled website carrying an article with the same headline, dated July 29.
This narrative originated from the satirical website Esspots.
The site published the original article on July 28 with the same headline, and tagged it as “satire”. The site has a disclaimer that states all its articles “are entirely fictitious and created for entertainment purposes only.”
The International Olympic Committee has told Reuters that the circulating claim is “incorrect” and said Samsung’s global partnership with the Olympics will continue until 2028, according to the wire agency’s July 30 fact check article. Both Samsung and the IOC have press releases on the partnership extending through 2028.
Similar posts using the satirical piece’s headline and photos are gaining traction on Facebook, X, and Threads. While some were clearly labeled as satire, others, like the Facebook post flagged by VERA Files Fact Check, were not, making netizens believe them.
These were published after the July 26 opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics gained backlash from religious groups for allegedly mocking Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”.
As of writing, the FB page’s post has gained 2.4K reactions, 377 comments, and 112 shares.
Editor’s Note: The author is a University of the Philippines student writing for VERA Files as part of her internship.
