fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Institutional Sanctions › Article

Dirty Games: US to host first 'Steroid Olympics'

TASS · 🇷🇺 public Russia · · 781 words
Institutional Sanctions Medical Ethics and Safety Sporting Integrity vs. Scientific Progress
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Generate a natural audio summary of this story
Daily briefing

What to know about Institutional Sanctions

The article reports on the 'Enhanced Games,' a sporting event that allows the use of performance-enhancing drugs, and details the reactions from the global sports community and Russian athletes. It outlines the event's organization by Aron D'Souzo and Peter Thiel, as well as the subsequent sanctions imposed by World Aquatics.

Propaganda risk 60%
Claims checked 14
Techniques found 4
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

In professional sports, the world’s best athletes compete using their God-given abilities honed through training.

Why it matters

Those who break this covenant and take performance-enhancing drugs are branded by the professional community as cheaters and in most cases become pariahs of sport.

Common ground

They can come back after serving their suspensions, but their reputations are stained forever as fans and peers alike never look at them the same again.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Appeal to Fear: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

The article reports on the 'Enhanced Games,' a sporting event that allows the use of performance-enhancing drugs, and details the reactions from the global sports community and Russian athletes. It outlines the event's organization by Aron D'Souzo and Peter Thiel, as well as the subsequent sanctions imposed by World Aquatics.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://tass.com/sports/2135243

analyticsAnalysis

60%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 90%
Significant concerns. Multiple propaganda techniques detected.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 4 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 95% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Name Calling / Labeling 90% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Appeal to Fear 85% confidence
Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Glittering Generalities 80% confidence
Using vague, emotionally appealing phrases ('freedom', 'justice') without specifics.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing glittering generalities helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 4
check_circle Corroborated 3
verified Verified By Reference 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 2
cancel Disputed 1
check_circle
Claim 1: “Officially called the Enhanced Games, Russia has dubbed the event the "Steroid Olympics."”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including BBC Sport and a YouTube discussion, refer to the Enhanced Games as the 'Steroid Olympics'.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Benjamin Proud (born 21 September 1994) is an English competitive swimmer, who represented Great Britain at the Olympic Games, the FINA World Aquatics Championships and LEN European Aquatics Champions…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Proud
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afgh…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodwill_Games
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The International Army Games (Russian: Армейские международные) is an annual international military sports event organized by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Russia. The event, which was first staged…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Army_Games
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 2: “The inaugural Enhanced Games have been organized with large contributions from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence confirms Peter Thiel's identity and the existence of the Enhanced Games, but does not explicitly state that he provided 'large contributions' to the event.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Enhanced Games (TEG) is a planned multi-sport event. Founded by Australian businessman Aron D'Souza, it plans to allow athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subject to dr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Games
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Charles Matthew Danzeisen (born 1966 or 1967) is an American financier and investor. He was vice president of BlackRock before becoming portfolio manager at Thiel Capital in 2008. He is active in Asia…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Danzeisen
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Peter Andreas Thiel ( ; born 11 October 1967) is a German-American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative political activist. A co-founder of PayPal (1998), Palantir Technologies (2003), a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 3: “Svetlana Zhurova, a deputy with the Russian parliament’s lower house (State Duma) and an Olympic champion in speed-skating”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
cancel
Claim 4: “On May 23-25 of this year, athletes from around the world will compete enhanced with drugs banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).”
DISPUTED
The claim states the event takes place May 23-25 of 'this year'. However, multiple authoritative sources (Wikipedia and BarBend) explicitly state the date is set for May 21-24, 2026.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Enhanced Games (TEG) is a planned multi-sport event. Founded by Australian businessman Aron D'Souza, it plans to allow athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subject to dr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Games
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Performance-enhancing substances (PESs), also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. Many substances, such as …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance-enhancing_substanc…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Persona 4 Revival is an upcoming role-playing video game developed by P-Studio and published by Atlus. It is a remake of Persona 4 (2008), the fifth main installment of the Persona series, itself a pa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_4_Revival
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 5: “The International Swimming Federation (World Aquatics), swiftly announced in a 2025 statement that it would suspend all athletes who participated in the Enhanced Games”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found regarding a 2025 statement from World Aquatics concerning the suspension of Enhanced Games participants.
info
Claim 6: “In 2024, D'Souzo criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC), calling it an exploitative organization, and also stated that WADA serves as its anti-scientific branch.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While there is evidence of general criticism of the IOC and WADA by various organizations, no specific evidence was found in the provided results confirming that Aron D'Souza made these specific statements in 2024.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Sergey Bubka has become the latest senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) member to call for reform of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).All this has brought a lack of confidence by the clean …
https://www.sportsintegrityinitiative.com/ioc-criticism-of-w…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — (ATR) The Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations says the International Olympic Committee "can no longer be entrusted to both promote and police itself". On March 16, the IOC Executive Board …
https://www.infobae.com/aroundtherings/ioc/2021/07/12/inado-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has responded to intense criticism from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by adopting new rules for its elections, scheduled for March 26 to 27…
https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/iwf-responds-to-ioc-…
verified
Claim 7: “The idea for the event was thought up by Australian businessman Aron D'Souzo.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia explicitly identifies the Enhanced Games as being founded by Australian businessman Aron D'Souza.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Simbolul @ (A rond) este un semn cunoscut în limba română sub numele de [a cu] coadă de maimuță[1][2] sau, mai rar, a comercial.
https://ro.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/@
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Pokédex entry for #304 Aron containing stats, moves learned, evolution chain, location and more!
https://pokemondb.net/pokedex/aron
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 29, 2026 · Aron (Japanese: ココドラ Cokodora) is a dual-type Steel / Rock Pokémon introduced in Generation III. It evolves into Lairon starting at level 32, which evolves into Aggron starting at level…
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Aron_(Pokémon)
schedule
Claim 8: “IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who herself won gold at the 2004 Olympics in Athens”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 9: “Russian and two-time World Champion in swimming Kirill Prigoda”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 10: “They include American Olympic swimming champions Cody Miller and Hunter Armstrong, Olympic medalists James Magnussen (swimming) from Australia, the UK’s Ben Proud (swimming), American Fred Kerly (100-m running) as well as Nigeria’s Mariam Usman (weightlifting).”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including AOL and the 'Enhanced' website, list Cody Miller, Hunter Armstrong, James Magnussen, Ben Proud, and Fred Kerley as participants.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Enhanced Games is a planned multi-sport event. Founded by Australian businessman Aron D'Souza, it plans to allow athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subject to drug test…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Games
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Fred Kerley. Swimming. Hunter Armstrong.James Magnussen. Track. Jasmine Abrams.
https://www.enhanced.com/athletes
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Several Olympians, including James Magnussen, Ben Proud, Cody Miller and Fred Kerley, will compete in the Enhanced Games. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.aol.com/articles/olympian-hunter-armstrong-annou…
schedule
Claim 11: “The organizers of the Enhanced Games attempted to sue World Aquatics and WADA, but the US Federal Court rejected their antitrust lawsuit.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 12: “For Russia, 27-year-old swimmer Yevgeny Somov... will also be among the officially registered participants of the 2026 Enhanced Games.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results for 'Yevgeny' provide general information about the name and other individuals (like Prigozhin), but no mention of a swimmer named Yevgeny Somov registering for the Enhanced Games.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Yevgeny Evgeny Kamenkovich at the Moscow Center for Documentary Films, 3 March 2020 Yevgeni (Russian: Евгений), also transliterated as Yevgeny, Yevgenii, Yevgeniy, Evgeni, Evgeny, Evgenii, Evgeniy, Ev…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Yevgeny is a boy's name of Russian and Greek origin and their variation of the name Eugene. Yevgeny, and its many spelling variants, is a well-known name in Russia carried by sports stars, actors, and…
https://www.thebump.com/b/yevgeny-baby-name
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Yevgeny Prigozhin called off the “march of justice”, but the rebellion dealt a blow to President Vladimir Putin, the most serious challenge to his rule in nearly a quarter-century in power.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-wagner-prigozhin-mutiny-pu…
help
Claim 13: “He finished 13th in the men's individual butterfly event at the Olympics.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found regarding Yevgeny Somov's Olympic placement.
check_circle
Claim 14: “The event will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, and includes competitions in track, swimming and weightlifting.”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia and BarBend both confirm the event is scheduled for Las Vegas, NV, and includes swimming, track and field, and weightlifting.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — El Cortez, a hotel and casino, is a relatively small downtown Las Vegas gaming venue a block from the Fremont Street Experience and Las Vegas Boulevard. Slots, table games, and a race and sports book…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Cortez_(Las_Vegas)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Enhanced Games (TEG) is a planned multi-sport event. Founded by Australian businessman Aron D'Souza, it plans to allow athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subject to dr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Games
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas_Raiders
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.