Viewers of official promotional material for the Paralympic Games have been accused of “disrespect” towards 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 some of their light-hearted content, including several videos that feature “meme” sound effects over clips of athletes.
The content produced by the four-person team (three of whom are disabled) has been branded “disrespectful” and “depraved” by viewers, although the team insists their “edge” content actually drives more people to their content.
A clip shows footage of a Paralympic swimmer hitting his head against the pool wall while swimming backwards.
It’s not uncommon for Paralympic swimmers to use their heads to hit sensors in the pool to indicate they’ve finished a race. To the untrained eye, however, the athlete looks like she might have been injured. The clip is dubbed with a trite sound effect; Dory’s rhyme “Just Keep Swimming” from the Disney Pixar film Finding Nemo.
As the world prepares for another major sporting event of the year, those responsible for the Paralympic social media teams have been accused of promoting “unserious” and “disrespectful” material.
Another video shows an athlete on skates doing a long jump, accompanied by “meme” sounds from the adult cartoon series Family Guy, with a joking voice of the character, Peter Griffin.
Another video shows an athlete on inline skates competing in the long jump, along with a “meme” sound from the animated sitcom Family Guy. It features the voice of the main character, Peter Griffin, singing a silly tune.
As the athlete jumps into the sandbox, the clip’s title reads: “Me when I see the couch.”
In another clip, posted on TikTok, a Tunisian shot putter is seen entering the field as she is about to compete.
She appears to scream as she encourages herself – and the crowd – for her attempt.
However, over the clip you can hear a song called ‘Squirrels in my Pants’ from the cartoon Phineas and Ferb.
The controversial clips on the Paralympic accounts have attracted a number of new viewers, after gaining 250,000 new followers in the past two weeks.
But viewers are divided over the content, with some criticising the account for “bullying” Paralympic athletes, while others are amused by the clips.
And the team behind the controversial social media strategy revealed they were aiming to divide people’s opinions in order to generate engagement with the page.
Talking with Be In an interview with The New York Times magazine, the International Paralympic Committee’s director of brand and communications, Craig Spence, admitted that the content was “on the edge” but stressed that he felt the team had found a “balance” in its clips.
The magazine also reported that the social media team consists of four people aged between 20 and 30, three of whom are disabled.
“We realized that our content had to be really edgy to get engagement. Now there are a lot of people who are like, ‘I don’t know if I should laugh at this, and if I laugh, am I going to hell?'” Spence said.
However, those who believe the clips have gone too far are standing firm in their outrage, criticising what they see as the “insensitivity” of the team and its strategy.
One furious viewer wrote: “We tried to create a funny meme out of (the athlete’s) achievements. The depravity of modern society knows no bounds.”
A second wrote: ‘You do understand that the tone of your posts is not just insensitive but downright bullying, right? This is not going to end well for whoever is in charge of the Paralympic Games social media accounts…’
A third disagreed with the “mocking” tone of the clips. They said: “Why the Peter Griffin voiceover in the clips? It seems silly, like you’re making fun of them. You don’t hear Peter Griffin in the clips on the official Olympic channel.”
However, some viewers saw the funny side of the dark humour behind the clips, suggesting the social media strategy was successful in some places.
The videos have not been without criticism, however, with several taking to the comments to express their outrage at the “insensitivity” of the humorous music played alongside Parasports.
With the help of his guide, he manages to reach the handlebars; a scene accompanied by a sound clip from Beethoven.
Another TikTok shows an athlete with dwarfism screaming as she throws a heavy metal ball while a song that says ‘Squirrels in My Pants’ plays.
However, not all videos posted on the channel have a meme audio attached, and other less “limited” content reveals a playful side in a harmless way.
The formula for the videos, according to Spence, was to offer a realistic view of Paralympic sports.
Although he insisted that spectators should have fun with the athletes and not because of them, an aim that seems to have not been successful among many of his viewers.
Another video shows the American Paralympic triathlete Brad Snyder reaches out his hands in an attempt to find his bike before a race.
With the help of your guide, you can reach the handlebar. This clip is paired with a soundbite from Beethoven, as if Brad were playing the piano with the melody.
Mr Spence explained that the team had asked Brad’s permission before making the clip and that it was not created without his consent.
The video was captioned: “Brad Snyder on piano on his way to winning gold with guide Greg Billington. He loves Beethoven.”
While Craig explained that the humor behind the clips is intended to make viewers laugh at the situation, rather than the individual, it’s unclear if this is fully achieved.
One viewer wrote: ‘LOLOLOLOLOLOL good thing he can’t see this’, while another mocked: ‘I hope he doesn’t see this…’
While many viewers of the channels have expressed horror at the cartoonish humour, Craig insisted the videos are educational and attention-grabbing.
Speaking to Self, he assured viewers that many videos are reviewed by International Paralympic Committee team members, 19 percent of whom have a disability.
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