Simone Biles Investigated by Olympic Commission for Performance-Enhancing Drugs?

 

 

 

 

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, an online rumor appearing in at least one Facebook ad claimed an Olympic commission was investigating 11-time Olympic medalist and U.S. gymnast Simone Biles for using performance-enhancing drugs, specifically naming a purported weight-loss product called Rapid Lean Keto + ACV Gummies.

 

At the same time users shared this rumor, Biles was busy winning four new Olympic medals. The Associated Press reported, “The woman who didn’t think she’d even be here a couple of years ago will leave Paris — and perhaps her final Olympics — with three golds and a silver and something perhaps even more valuable: peace.”

This rumor was both false and part of a dangerous, long-running scam promoting supposed weight-loss products called keto gummies.

One Facebook ad displaying to users on Aug. 12, 2024, showed a photo of Biles with the false claim, “New Questions Swirl Around Gymnast.”

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, accepted money to display this ad to users. The ad existed for at least several days on the social media platform.

As we have previously reported, similar Facebook and Instagram ads target other famous people — such as Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Kaley Cuoco, Oprah Winfrey, Kelly Clarkson and others — by falsely saying they endorsed keto gummies, purportedly for weight loss.

In reality, no famous people have ever endorsed any products described as keto gummies for weight loss.

Fake ESPN Article Promotes False Biles Rumor

The link included with the ad directed users to a fake ESPN article hosted on the scam website therightchoicetrc.com.

ESPN.com never published this article. Scammers copied the design of the website in an attempt to fool users into believing it was genuine.