False narratives and AI-generated images go viral amid 2026 Winter Olympics
The Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games became fertile ground for misinformation about Ukrainian athletes and Russia's participation, among others.
Ten days into the 2026 Winter Olympics social media feeds are filled with snowy images of winning athletes and videos of the most spectacular performances.
However, the constant stream of news coming out of Milano-Cortina also includes AI-generated images and misleading claims, creating viral misinformation narratives around the event.
Ukrainian athletes among the most targeted by false claims
Social media users have been sharing posts (archived here and here) containing pictures purportedly showing Hungarian cross-country skiing athlete, Adam Konya, waving with a sticker on his glove reading “WE’RE ALL FED UP WITH ‘U’”.
Users claimed that Konya’s gesture was a stance against Ukrainian athletes that showed solidarity with skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified after wearing a helmet honoring dead compatriots.
However, the images were detected via SynthID as being partially digitally manipulated. Some evidence includes the text on the glove appearing very sharp and lacking natural distortion and the tape looking digitally overlaid rather than physically attached to the glove.
A Google Lens reverse search revealed that the original photo was shared on the official Team Hungary Facebook page. The picture was taken during a cross-country ski competition on February 8, in Tesero, and features Konya waving and showing the glove without the sticker.
Another video (archived here) featuring CBC News chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault became viral on social media after being altered with AI, spreading misinformation about Ukrainian athletes at the Olympic village.
For example, X user @provemewrong411 shared the video on February 12, garnering over 62,000 views and with the caption, “Ukrainian athletes in Milan were placed as far away as possible from other participants. According to reports attributed to the Canadian TV channel, Ukrainian athletes at the Olympics were deliberately accommodated separately from others. This decision was reportedly made because Ukrainian athletes behaved inappropriately and caused conflicts with other athletes at the previous Olympic Games in Paris”.
CBC’s fact-check team published a debunk on this claim explaining how, 16 seconds into the video, the original clip was replaced by an AI-generated one, as confirmed by comparing the manipulated video with the original one posted on the CBC News official TikTok account on February 4.
Moreover, there are no reports or statements suggesting that Ukrainian athletes were accused of misbehavior during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
AI-generated Russian flags at the Olympics
Italian X user @SAntonio10273 posted an image (archived here) on February 10, purportedly showing a woman in the stands at the Olympics, holding a large Russian flag, with the caption, “Russia has finally arrived at the Olympics in Italy”.
The image was detected via SynthID as being made or manipulated with Google AI software.
Russian and Belarusian athletes are competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) without national flags, symbols, or uniforms, and utilizing the AIN’s flag and anthem. Moreover, the International Olympic Committee has banned the Russian flag at the 2026 Olympic Games.
A skier was misrepresented as a Princess campaigning against the U.S.
Social media users also shared a picture (archived here) of Swedish skier Frida Karlsson, currently involved in the Winter Olympics, falsely claiming it showed Swedish Princess Frida.
For example, X user @drhossamsamy65, shared the picture (archived here) on February 8, 2026, with the caption, “Swedish Princess Frida, calls trump a Psyco creep, and that Europe should ban all American products. She also invites Canada to join the EU”. The picture had garnered over 77,000 views as of February 16.
There is no record that Karlsson made comments on Trump or on Canada joining the EU. Moreover, on the official site of the Swedish Royal Court there is no record of a princess called Frida.
SOURCES
CBC. (2026). Available at: Fact check: Fake CBC video on Ukrainian athletes at Olympics. [online] [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].
Facebook.com. (2016). Facebook. [online] Available at: Team Hungary [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].
Tiktok.com. (2026). TikTok [online] Available at: Team Canada’s home [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].
Olympics.com. (2025). Available at: Individual Neutral Athletes to compete at Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games under same conditions as for Paris 2024. [online] [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].
Instagram.com. (2017). Available at: Frida Karlsson (@fridakarlsson) • Instagram photos and videos. [online] [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].
Kungahuset.se. (2016). Available at: Royal House. [online] [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].
X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: Lo sciatore ungherese Adam Konya [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].
X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: A magyar sífutó, Kónya Ádám [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].
X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: Absolutely everyone has had enough of the Ukranazis. [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].
X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: .. 𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗗𝗜 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗔 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲. [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].
X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: Swedish Princess Frida, calls trump [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].
X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: Swedish Princess Frida, calls [Accessed 16 Feb. 2026].