This Monday, LFI MP for Seine-et-Marne, Ersilia Soudais, faced backlash after sharing a misleading post on social media regarding the health of triathletes competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The tweet, which claimed that 25 athletes fell ill after swimming in the Seine, was based on a false front page of the newspaper Libération. Soudais later issued an apology on X (formerly Twitter) for spreading misinformation.
The controversy erupted when Soudais commented on a fabricated image showing Canadian triathlete Tyler Mislawchuk vomiting, alongside a claim that 24 other athletes required medical attention. She criticized the French government's expenditure of €1.4 billion to make the Seine swimmable, stating it made the country look foolish on the world stage. Despite the incidents, authorities have yet to confirm any direct link between the athletes' ailments and the river's water quality.
Compounding the situation, Belgian triathlete Claire Michel withdrew from the team event citing illness, stirring further speculation about the swimming conditions. However, reports indicate that it remains unclear whether her sickness was related to the Seine swim. This incident highlights the challenges faced by officials in ensuring athlete safety and the potential for misinformation to spread rapidly, especially in the context of high-stakes international events like the Olympics.
