Viewers of official promotional material for the Paralympic Games have been accused of “disrespecting” the athletes over clips posted online ahead of the opening ceremony on Wednesday.
Social media platforms including TikTok and YouTube Shorts have come under fire for their light-hearted content, with several videos featuring “meme” sound effects over clips of athletes.
The content produced by the four-person team (three of whom have disabilities) has been called “disrespectful” and “depraved” by viewers. However, the team maintains that the “edgy” content actually attracts more people to their content.
One of the clips shows a Paralympic swimmer hitting his head on the pool wall while swimming backwards.
It’s not uncommon for Paralympic swimmers to use their heads to touch sensors in the pool to signal that they’ve finished a race. To the untrained eye, however, it looks like the athlete may have injured himself. The clip is dubbed with a trivial sound effect; Dory’s “Just Keep Swimming” rhyme from the Disney Pixar film Finding Nemo.
As the world prepares for another major sporting event of the year, those behind the Paralympic social media teams are being accused of promoting ‘unserious’ and ‘disrespectful’ material
Another video shows an athlete in running shoes doing the long jump, combined with ‘meme’ sounds from the adult cartoon series Family Guy, featuring a funny voice from the character Peter Griffin
Another video shows an athlete in running shoes competing in the long jump, combined with a “meme” sound from the animated comedy Family Guy. It features the voice of main character Peter Griffin singing along to a silly tune.
As the athlete jumps into the sandbox, the caption on the clip reads, “Me when I see the bench.”
In another video posted to TikTok, a Tunisian shot putter is seen entering the field just before she is set to compete.
She appears to be screaming as she encourages herself – and the audience – for her attempt.
However, above the clip is a song called ‘Squirrels in my Pants’ from the cartoon series Phineas and Ferb.
The controversial clips on the Paralympic accounts have attracted the attention of a number of new viewers, after they gained 250,000 new followers in the past two weeks.
But viewers are divided over the content, with some criticizing the account for “bullying” Paralympic athletes, while others laugh at the clips.
The team behind the controversial social media strategy have revealed that they planned to divide people’s opinions in order to create more engagement with the page.
Speaking with Yourself Craig Spence, head of brand and communications for the International Paralympic Committee, admitted the content was “on the edge” but stressed he felt the team had found a “balance” in the clips.
The magazine also reported that the social media team consists of four people between the ages of 20 and 30, three of whom have disabilities.
“We realized that our content had to be really edgy to get the engagement. Now you have a lot of people out there saying, ‘I don’t know if I should laugh at this, and if I do laugh, am I going to go to hell,'” Spence said.
However, those who believe the clips have gone too far remain outraged, criticising the team’s “insensitivity” and strategy.
An angry onlooker wrote: ‘Trying to make a funny meme of [the athlete’s] achievements. The depravity of modern society knows no bounds,’
A second wrote: ‘You do realise that the tone of your posts is not only insensitive but outright bullying, right? This is not going to end well for whoever is in charge of the Paralympics’ social media accounts…’
A third disagreed with the ‘mocking’ tone of the clips. They said: ‘Why the Peter Griffin voiceover in the clips? It feels ridiculous, like you’re making fun of them. You don’t hear Peter Griffin in short films on the official Olympic channel.’
Still, some viewers saw the funny side of the dark humor behind the clips, suggesting the social media strategy was a success in some places.
The videos have not come without criticism however, as many took to the comments en masse to express their outrage at the ‘insensitivity’ of the humorous music heard alongside the Parasports.
With the help of his guide he is able to reach the steering wheel; a scene accompanied by a sound clip of Beethoven
Another TikTok shows an athlete with dwarfism screaming as she throws the heavy metal ball while the song ‘Squirrels in My Pants’ plays
However, not a single video posted to the channel has a meme audio attached, while other, less ‘borderline’ content reveals a playful side in an innocent way
According to Spence, the videos were intended to give a realistic portrayal of para-sports.
However, he stressed that the spectators should be entertained with the athletes, not by them, a goal that seems not to have been achieved by many spectators.
Another video shows the Brad Snyder, an American Paralympic triathlon athlete, reaches out to find his bike before the race.
With the help of his guide he can reach the steering wheel. This clip is linked to a sound clip of Beethoven, as if Brad were playing the piano in time.
Mr. Spence explained that the team had asked Brad’s permission before making the clip, and that the clip was not made without his permission.
The video was captioned: ‘Brad Snyder on piano as he heads out to win gold with guide Greg Billington. He loves a little Beethoven.’
Craig explained that the humor behind the clips is meant to make viewers laugh at the situation, rather than the individual, but it’s unclear whether this actually happens.
One viewer wrote: ‘HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, thank goodness he can’t see this,’ while another mockingly said: ‘I hope he doesn’t see this…’
While many viewers of the channels expressed disgust at the cartoonish humor, Craig stressed that the videos are both educational and attention-grabbing.
Speaking to Self, he assured viewers that a number of videos are reviewed by members of the International Paralympic Committee team, 19 percent of whom have a disability.
