As a global audience tuned in to the 2024 Summer Olympics, online actors exploited the attention on social media to promote polarizing racial, social and political causes relating to gender and religion, with notable brands often caught in the digital cross-fire.
Over the course of the games, Resolver identified several instances where online detractors tagged brand-owned and managed accounts in adverse commentary calling for boycotts and linked the brands to these contentious online conversations. Prominent narratives amplified by these brand detractors include accusations of brands supporting the perceived anti-Christian agenda, engaging in antisemitism hate and calls for boycotts based on brands perceived support of Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The proliferation of adverse online commentary on brand-owned pages highlights the growing reputational risks faced by brands during high-profile cultural events and underscores the need for proactive solutions to safeguard brand reputation.
Our Reputation Monitoring solution employs an analyst-in-the-loop approach combining bespoke AI algorithms trained since 2005 to track online risk signals with insights and expertise drawn from a team of human intelligence analysts. This human-assisted AI approach ensures our partners have access to deeper insights on the highest impact risks facing their brand or organization.
Boycott calls spike during opening ceremony
Ahead of the Games, online activist groups expressed a desire to hijack public interest to draw attention to various political, social and environmental causes. Resolver analyzed more than 70,000 posts across social platforms featuring adverse commentary towards brands advertising between July 10 and August 20, 2024. This discourse was driven by 53,187 accounts with 93% of this commentary taking place on mainstream platforms.
Resolver observed a surge in calls for boycotts and backlash against brands sponsoring the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Graph showing engagement gained by posts amplifying adverse commentary targeting brands and athletes at the Olympics 2024 between July 10 and August 20, 2024.
Our review of this dataset revealed that adverse commentary targeting brands peaked on July 26, with this spike driven by online backlash to the Olympic opening ceremony that took place the same day. This commentary included multiple posts featuring images listing companies sponsoring the event and called for boycotts against them. These posts gained significant traction amassing over 25 million views across mainstream and alt-tech platforms.
Posts calling for boycotts against brands related to backlash over the opening ceremony gained significant traction on mainstream social platforms.
Users supporting the idea of brand boycotts often tagged brand-owned and managed accounts on mainstream platforms in their critical commentary. This tactic was used to raise awareness of their online campaign and expose these adverse narratives among the brands online communities and tarnish their reputation.
The word cloud highlighting the most frequently used words and terms across social media noted during the Games includes several of the brands closely associated with the event, as well as the phrase ‘time to boycott’.
The opening ceremony on July 26 received widespread criticism and calls for boycotts from Christian users following allegations the event mocked the Last Supper. This included posts that were replies to topical content posted by the brand on their owned or managed accounts. Such content also included incitement to violence against Artistic director Thomas Jolly alleging that the ceremony “celebrated pedophilia” and “mocked christianity”.
Example of reply to a post on a brand owned or managed account that shared death threats towards the Artistic director of the Olympics opening ceremony on social media.
Sportswear giant embroiled in transgender athlete debate
Another smaller, but still notable spike in user engagement and brand detraction took place on August 1, when Algerian boxer Imane Khelif received substantial abuse relating to her gender across mainstream and alt-tech platforms. This abuse followed on the heels of her swift victory against Italian boxer Angela Carini.
In the immediate aftermath of the bout, mis-and disinformation that Khelif was transgender was spread across social media platforms, driven by accounts belonging to public figures with large followings including social media influencer Logan Paul.
The narrative suggesting that Khelif was male, and being allowed to actively engage in violence against female competitors was also shared by anti-transgender accounts. Such online communities also took aim at a prominent sportswear brand that was a sponsor for the event alleging that they were complicit in supporting the inclusion of transgendered athletes in the Games. The growth in online discourse targeting the athlete also prompted activist groups to protest in Paris over the IOC’s continued support of Khelif and Taiwan boxer Lin Yu.
Users mass shared a post that received over 144,000 views on mainstream social platforms, suggesting the brand’s silence on the topic implied they were sponsoring “Men punching women”.
Users believing the brands sponsoring the Games were also supporting the event’s wider societal values created notable online backlash, with claims that “these companies will feel the wrath of their former customers”.
The sports brand had already faced user backlash ahead of the start of the games, being drawn into wider societal conspiracy theories following their publication of content including a pro-Palestinian activist. The rise in online users attributing their own individual anxieties, alongside their distrust of social, political and cultural changes, onto major brands has been notable in recent years, with global events such as the Olympic Games proving an ideal sounding board for their conspiratorial ideas.
Though online brand boycott attempts can be inconsistent in their results, at least one major brand sponsoring the event has suffered significant financial losses in the past twelve months driven by a targeted online campaign over their actions related to the war.
Israel-Hamas war spills over to Olympics
Israel’s participation in the Games was also a point of heated discussion across mainstream and alt-tech platforms. Participating Israeli athletes received 24-hour protection amid heightened security concerns and tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, with calls for sanctions against the country and suggestions of protests noted ahead of the Opening Ceremony.
While a bulk of this discourse discussed political and religious issues pertaining to the broader conflict, one prominent brand found itself inadvertently drawn into the polarized online debate surrounding Israeli athletes participation at the games.
On August 6, an Iranian state television channel aired a video inciting violence against Israeli athletes. The advertisement showed an Israeli athlete shaking the hands of his competitors in an Olympic locker room, leaving blood on their hands and his uniform. This was soon shared across social media, with general users highlighting the inclusion of the logo on a US sportswear brand on the athletes’ uniforms.
Posts criticizing the US sportswear brand for their alleged antisemitism gained significant engagement on mainstream platforms.
Despite the video not being sanctioned by either the Olympics committee or from the sportswear brand, it did not stop a high volume of users online accusing both of agreeing with the anti-semitic messaging featured in the advert.
Adding fuel to the fire, the brand did not issue a swift condemnation of the misuse of their logo, resulting in these accusations shared on brand owned and managed social media content to remain unchallenged.
Mitigating risks for high-profile event sponsors
In all cases, brands directly affected by the surge in boycott calls towards their Olympic sponsorship deals did not attempt to mitigate risk threats by controlling or commenting upon the situation. The amplification of impending issues at the Games, such as the controversy over gender issues on social media had been signposted ahead of the event by prior Resolver intelligence briefings. The presence of such early warning indicators offers discerning brands an opportunity to review and evaluate potential reputational risks ahead of time.
Resolver’s services offer insights into the impact generated either by antagonists or good faith critics driving campaigns against our clients. Many of these familiar faces generate tens of thousands of shares and reposts but ultimately operate within an echo chamber, like many of those targeting Olympic sponsors over the opening ceremony. High profile figures like Logan Paul however have the potential to cause significant brand impact if their criticism had been turned against sponsors. Our brand equity solution helps partners understand the difference between the volume of criticism versus their impact amongst different audiences online.
Our live alerting feature detects emerging issues in real-time, giving communications teams crucial lead time to craft and deploy responses across all touchpoints. Meanwhile, our cadence reporting provides ongoing insights into social sentiment, helping you refine strategies proactively.
According to Aadil Mohamed, Corporate Intelligence Lead at Resolver, a Kroll business, “Major political, cultural, and sporting events are minefields for brands. A robust crisis communication plan powered by contextual intelligence isn’t just a safety net—it’s a strategic imperative. It empowers brands to swiftly articulate their position and navigate unexpected controversies with agility, consistency, and control.”.
Conclusion
Online activists utilized the increased global visibility around the event to push their respective agendas, incorporating brands and sponsorship deals into their attempts to instigate backlash. While corporations being unexpectedly embroiled in sponsorship backlash is not a new issue, the volume in which this increasingly extreme backlash is now being spread across social media poses unprecedented levels of risk of long-term reputational damage for unprepared brands.
Resolver provides a suite of comprehensive brand equity protection solutions designed to empower and protect your brands’ reputation with real-time monitoring of online conversations, identification of emerging risks and conspiracy narratives and critical alert delivery across channels for proactive crisis management.
