By Tetiana Bobrykova, TV Host, Journalist
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What’s happening on the official Paralympic Games TikTok page? What they are posting is shocking millions of TikTok users, including myself. So, it’s an official page, verified with a blue checkmark, with 4.4 million followers. But the content is surprising. It seems that the people managing the Paralympic Games page decided to joke about the Paralympians, deliberately choosing unsuccessful moments from events, and in some cases, outright mocking people with disabilities. Sometimes they insert a meme with a child that went viral a few months ago, or use a “Formula 1” sound to show Paralympians racing.
The video that shocked me the most, and by the way, it’s pinned to the top of the page, is called “Beethoven.”
No matter how strange the video may seem, it has 30 million views. This raises the question: could it be that the people managing the official Paralympic Games account weren’t mocking the Paralympians, but rather intended to draw attention to the account and to the Paralympic Games in general?
Undoubtedly, they succeeded in doing so. I’ve personally come across dozens of videos on TikTok, especially in the English-speaking segment, where people simply don’t know how to react to this. On the one hand, it’s supposed to be funny, but on the other – absolutely not. But this is the official Paralympic Games account.
Followers of the page comment that they will end up in hell for laughing at these TikToks, and that they’ll be boiling in the same pot with the admins of this account. Some believe the admins are geniuses, while others think they are people with the darkest souls. By the way, there are many ukrainians among the commentators.
In reality, the only people who can decide whether such methods are acceptable or not are the athletes and people with disabilities themselves.
On the one hand, the situation is mitigated by the fact that the official account is run by Paralympians. But I recently found an account of an American Paralympic athlete where she explains her perspective. She raises a valid point: is there a balance between the funny videos (which make up the majority) and videos that showcase the strength, abilities, achievements, and incredible results of the athletes?
