Not even the Olympics are safe from disinformation anymore

Sports have largely – but not completely – managed to stay out of the crosshairs of disinformation. However, this changed massively in the Paris Olympic Games, proving that sports competitions need to be just as ready for the onslaught of falsehoods as public administration bodies or politicians. This means that just like democratic states, sports governance institutions will have to be ready to face this challenge.    

On August 1, 2024, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif beat Italian boxer Angela Carini in under a minute at the 2024 Olympics, after the latter withdrew due to pain, claiming she had never been “hit with such a powerful punch.” This gave rise to allegations that Khelif is competing as a biological male or that she is transgender; described as a man beating women at the Olympics.  

The false claims that Khelif was “male” or “transgender” have won broad recognition. The transgender narrative was extremely strong in Hungary, since the country’s representative, Luca Hámori, had to face Khelif.  

But these allegations were not restricted only to Hungary. After the “scandal” broke, Donald Trump promised to “keep men out of women’s sports,” his running mate JD Vance claimed that “Kamala Harris’s ideas about gender” led to “a jacked dude beating the [expletive] out of a girl,” declaring that liberalism had become a “mental disorder.” None of this is true, but everything that transpired around Khelif suits existing anti-LGBTI, anti-West and anti-liberal narratives perfectly. Meanwhile, Russia-linked networks stood ready to amplify false claims about Khelif – and everything else connected to the Olympics. 

András Rácz, a senior research fellow at DGAP, highlighted that the entire case started with the International Boxing Association (IBA) banning Khelif from the 2023 World Boxing Championship held in New Delhi. The IBA’s Russian head, Umar Kremlev claimed at the time that DNA tests “proved they [some competitors] have XY chromosomes,” a characteristic representative of men. Both Khelif and Taiwanese boxer Yu Ting Lin – another boxer in Paris 2024 – were among these competitors. If this was true, it could suggest that they were affected by a condition known as differences/disorders of sexual development. Thus, it is possible that these boxers’ bodies are producing higher levels of testosterone than other female competitors, which would offer Khelif and Lin advantages in muscle development.  

There is a reason for the use of conditional sentences. First, the IBA – as Rácz noted – is led by Russian businessman Umar Kremlev, who made the association dependent entirely on Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, for financing. The disqualification of Khelif and Lin conveniently took place days after the Algerian boxer beat the then-undefeated Russian Azalia Amineva in New Delhi. To be perfectly clear, the competitors singled out by the IBA are not unbeaten: Imane Khelif was beaten 9 times by other female boxers, including in the 2022 IBA Women’s World Championship’s Final and in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics. Lin also accumulated 14 losses during her career.   

Second, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped the IBA’s recognition as the global body for boxing due to issues related to governance, finance, refereeing and ethical issues. The IOC emphasized in a statement that the attack on Khelif and Lin were based solely on an arbitrary decision by the IBA Secretary General and CEO, as the disqualification took place without proper procedure.  

Third, after the scandal started in 2024, the IBA held a press conference. On the conference, IBA chief executive Chris Roberts said they (rightfully) could not disclose the results of the tests, but the “chromosome tests demonstrated both boxers [Khelif and Lin] were ineligible.” Then, Kremlev claimed the athletes had high levels of testosterone, despite the fact that IBA doctor Ioannis Filippatos said testosterone had not been tested for.   

Finally, claims that Khelif is allegedly transgender need to be reflected on. Khelif was born female, as attested by official Algerian documents, and considers herself female as well. 

Since the IBA is not recognized as a global governance body for boxing, the IOC followed the eligibility guidelines of an ad-hoc Paris 2024 Boxing Unit, and both Khelif and Lin met these requirements. Whether these requirements are set correctly can be a subject of the international debate. Limitations placed on the participation of women with DSD would not be unprecedented: they were put in place by the World Athletics Federation, formerly known as the IAAF. Caster Semenya – a multiple Olympic and world champion – is also affected by DSD, and at one point in her career, she had to take estrogen to bring her testosterone levels down to be allowed to compete.  

Thus, the IOC should figure out how to adequately regulate this issue in boxing or across all disciplines in the Olympic Games, and communicate this clearly, as it would go a long way in preventing such scandals from erupting. It has to be ensured that any testing to establish competitors’ suitability is done in a manner respectful towards the athletes.  

In the ring, fairness and competitive spirit won at the end. Italian boxer Angela Carini apologized to Khelif for not shaking her hand after the match and said she did not have anything against her. Luca Hámori – despite some controversial social media posts before their match – said after losing to Khelif that she “had not a single bad word to say” about her Algerian opponent.  

Sports need to remain a space for fair competition between athletes, and not another battleground for disinformation. Whatever may happen with athletes with DSD, it seems like sports competitions need to be as ready for an onslaught of disinformation as public institutions or politicians, and they need to be prepared adequately to counter attacks.