How Israeli, Palestinian, Russian, and Ukrainian Olympians are Being Framed in the Media

The 2024 Paris Olympics have generated a surge of biased reports on the Palestinian, Israeli, Russian, and Ukrainian Olympians, and a reflection on the decisions of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Israel/Palestine

As the conflict between Israel and Palestine persists, both Olympians from these countries and those publicly defending one of these countries have experienced an influx of media attention. Specifically, the media has highlighted Israeli judoka Peter Paltchik, Palestinian boxer Waseem Abu Sal, and Tajikistan judoka Nurali Emomali.

On the Left

Paltchik, flag bearer for Israel, received backlash for a deleted social media post from October 22, 2023, following the October 7th attack. The Guardian (Lean Left bias) wrote that Paltchik is “alleged to have posted photographs on social media of Israeli missiles with the caption ‘From me to you with pleasure.’” The Guardian did not elaborate past this and pointed out that “Team Israel did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.” In doing so, this news network omitted details that Metro (Lean Left bias) considered, such as the date of the original deleted post, which was within two weeks of the initial Hamas attack, Paltchik’s follow-up of this post with another tweet elaborating on his fear of Hamas, and the Israel judo federation’s public denial that Paltchik signed the missiles.

AFP (Left bias) wrote about Abu Sal, flag bearer for Palestine and boxer at the Paris Olympics, who adorned a shirt with “embroidered images of warplanes dropping missiles over children playing sport.” President of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, Jibril Rajoub, stated that “‘It’s a message of peace. It’s a message to attract attention.’” It is important to note that Rajoub also said Paltchik was “sending them [missiles] as a gift to the children of Gaza” without including evidence to prove this claim, exhibiting an anti-Israel bias.

AFP emphasized that the IOC does not permit political statements but did not discuss whether the shirt was approved by the IOC.

In the Center

The Times of Israel (Center bias) did point this out and warned of discrimination, as “meanwhile, Israeli athletes [are] forbidden from wearing yellow ribbon[s] for hostages.”

On the Right

Emomali was spotlighted by Fox News (Right bias) when he “refused to shake his Israeli competitor's hand after the match, as is customary, and was hit with immediate karma, according to X users.” This article was critical of Emomali, highlighting pro-Israel sources and derogatory remarks against Emomali on social media for disregarding the “customary post-match gesture.”

Russia/Ukraine

Regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, western media typically favored Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as the government of the West has tended to support Ukraine, as shown by the following graph. 

Western media coverage of Russia has sometimes used Russia’s ban from the Paris Olympics as an argument that Israel should also be removed from the Paris Olympics, accusing the IOC of promoting a “‘double-standard’” in the treatment of Russia versus Israel.

The Guardian addressed the matter of the customary shaking hands gesture, stating that “Ukrainian athletes will not shake hands with any Russian or Belarusian athletes at this summer’s Games; Rajoub said no similar edict has been handed down to Palestine’s eight-strong contingent.” The Guardian mentioned their concern that Palestine is still required to shake hands with Israel, an assumption that Israel is in the wrong. In doing so, The Guardian highlighted their perceived double standard between the two conflicts.

Western media presents a varied analysis of the Israel/Palestine and Russia/Ukraine conflicts, which we've covered in our Misinformation Watch series.

Written by Content Intern Stella Kozielec (Center bias)

Reviewed and edited by Content Intern Kacie Moschella (Lean Left bias), Olivia Geno, News and Bias Assistant (Lean Right bias), and Bias Research Manager & Data Journalist Andrew Weinzierl (Lean Left bias).

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this blog improperly attributed an article from AFP to Barron's.