On July 30, 2024, Facebook account America's Last Line of Defense posted a meme claiming the 2024 Paris Olympics were the "lowest-rated" Games in modern history.
The caption on the post read:
The stands are half-empty, and the ratings are in the toilet. The IOC says the games will lose more than $300 million over the blasphemous opening they allowed to happen.
Go woke go broke.
Text in the meme said: "Paris Now Has the Lowest-Rated Olympic Games in Modern History: 'People Want Sports, Not Blasphemy.'"
The post by America's Last Line of Defense (ALLOD) referenced
(Facebook user America's Last Line Of Defense)
At the time of this writing, the post had received more than 90,000 reactions and 15,900 comments, many of which seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events.
However, the claims in the post were not factual. The claims originated from ALLOD — a network of social media accounts and websites that describe their output as satirical in nature. Its Facebook page's bio stated: "Nothing on this page is real." The meme shared in the post also included a "Satire" badge in the bottom right corner.
It was unclear what "ratings" the ALLOD post was referencing, as well as if they supposedly applied to
Also, as far as the post's claim about the International Olympic Committee (IOC) saying the Games have lost $300 million — the IOC has made no such public statement.
In the post's comments, ALLOD shared a link to an article by the Dunning-Kruger Times, a website within ALLOD's network. That post read, in part:
Dozens across the internet say that the Paris Olympics are losing both advertising revenue and the support of the people after the blasphemous opening ceremony that mocked Jesus Christ and the Last Supper.
While none of the reports are credible, they all come with headlines the common potato will go nutty over.
According to the Dunning-Kruger Times' "About Us" page, the website uses the term "potatoes" or "taters" to refer to "conservative fans of America's Last Line of Defense. They are fragile, frightened, mostly older caucasian Americans. They believe everything."
ALLOD and its associated accounts have a history of making up stories for shares and comments.
Snopes has addressed other satirical claims about the 2024 Paris Olympics in the past, including one that said Home Depot ended its longstanding sponsorship of the Games, and a similar rumor that Samsung withdrew a $1 billion sponsorship from the 2024 Paris Olympics, citing opposition to a "woke agenda."
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.