We came across posts on X and Facebook that implied that Israel’s artistic swimming team performed a potentially controversial routine at the Paris Olympics.

In one of the X posts, two photos and two videos were embedded, prominently featuring a group of swimmers forming the phrase “BRING THEM HOME NOW!”, a reference to the Israeli hostages captured by Hamas in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The post alleges that the team performed this routine after they were not allowed to wear symbolic yellow ribbon pins to show their solidarity with the hostages.

The Paris Olympics

The Paris Olympics has undoubtedly captured the world’s imagination over the last two weeks. According to NBC, 34 million people watched the first five days of action in Paris, marking a 79% increase from the viewership figures of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Moreover, the multisport event has also seen the emergence of colourful characters and viral memes such as Pommel Horse Steve and the Turkish John Wick.

However, there have also been reports of protests against Israel’s involvement in the Olympics due to the conflict in Gaza. Some Israeli athletes have received threats and have been subjected to antisemitic behaviour, including Nazi salutes.

 

Where did the images come from?

The artistic swimming campaign kicked off on 6 August 2024 with the Team Technical Routine. However, upon reviewing the entries for the event, we found that Israel did not send athletes to compete in the team event. Instead, the country is represented in the Duet category by 20-year-old Ariel Nassee and 23-year-old Shelly Bobritsky, with their performances scheduled for 10 and 11 August 2024.

We conducted reverse image searches on the images circulating on social media and found that they were captured by aerial photographer Adam Spiegel. The image of a group of swimmers forming the phrase “BRING THEM HOME NOW!” was posted on his Instagram account on 19 November 2023, slightly over a month after the Al-Aqsha attacks by Hamas on 7 October 2023.

Additionally, another image featuring three artistic swimmers in a formation resembling a yellow ribbon was shared by Spiegel in May 2024, 10 weeks before the Olympic Games commenced.

The same image of the swimmers spelling out “BRING THEM HOME NOW!” was also shared by the Israeli Senior Artistic Swimming Team on their Instagram account and the official X account of the State of Israel. Captured during a performance by the Israeli artistic swimming team in November 2023 at the National Pool at Wingate Institute in Israel, this image is described as a tribute to the hostages held in Gaza.

Hence, the images circulating on X and Facebook that claim to show Israeli swimmers performing a potentially controversial routine at the Paris Olympics are misleading and false. These images were taken before the Paris Olympics.