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The Enhanced Games, or ‘steroid Olympics’, are on. They pose risks for athletes and those watching

The Conversation · · 913 words · By Luke Cox; Samuel Cornell; Timothy Piatkowski
Integrity of Sport Commercial Conflict of Interest Public Health Risk Bodily Autonomy vs. Control

The article discusses the Enhanced Games, an event allowing performance-enhancing drugs, and analyzes the arguments used by its founder, Aron D'Souza. The author critiques the event's claims regarding bodily autonomy and anti-doping, while raising concerns about public health risks and commercial conflicts of interest.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/the-enhanced-games-or-steroid-olympics-are-on-they-p…

analyticsAnalysis

40%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 90%
Moderate concerns. Notable use of persuasive or loaded language.

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 90% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
warning
Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.
warning
Appeal to Fear 80% confidence
Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.
warning
Cherry Picking 70% confidence
Selectively presenting evidence that supports one side while ignoring contrary evidence.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

15 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 5
check_circle Corroborated 3
info Single Source 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
verified Verified 1
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“The inaugural Enhanced Games are underway in Las Vegas”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Nypost, The Conversation, Daily Maverick) confirm the inaugural Enhanced Games are scheduled for May 24, 2026, in Las Vegas.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Enhanced Games (TEG) is a multi-sport event. Founded by Australian businessman Aron D'Souza, it allows athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subject to drug tests; organiz…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Games
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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
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Resorts World Las Vegas is a resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by Genting Group as part of the Resorts World brand. It had been th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resorts_World_Las_Vegas
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“The International Olympic Committee has condemned the event as a way to “destroy any concept of fair play” and “moronic”.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of 'international' and general Wikipedia entries on doping and the Olympics, but contains no specific quote or statement from the IOC calling the event 'moronic' or a way to 'destroy any concept of fair play'.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Competitors at the Olympic Games have used banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_at_the_Olympic_Games
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Enhanced Games (TEG) is a multi-sport event. Founded by Australian businessman Aron D'Souza, it allows athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subject to drug tests; organiz…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Games
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; French: Jeux olympiques) are the world's biggest international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports events in which thousands of athletes from aro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“Forty-two athletes will compete in swimming, sprinting, weightlifting and strongman.”
VERIFIED
A web search result explicitly states that 'Forty-two athletes will compete in swimming, sprinting, weightlifting and strongman'.
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“They can claim $1 million bounties for “breaking” world records”
CORROBORATED
Two separate web search results confirm the promise of $1 million bounties for breaking world records.
travel_explore
web search 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 dru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Games
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Forty-two athletes will compete in swimming, sprinting, weightlifting and strongman. They can claim $1 million bounties for “breaking” world records (previously set by drug-tested athletes).
https://theconversation.com/the-enhanced-games-or-steroid-ol…
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web search NEUTRAL — Launching in May 2026 with Peter Thiel’s backing, the Games promise $1 million bounties for breaking world records. Former Olympic athletes like sprinter Fred Kerley and swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev hav…
https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/24/can-steroids-combat-popula…
info
“The athletes involved include Australian former 100 metres freestyle world champion James Magnussen, US 2022 world 100m sprinting champion Fred Kerley, and the UK’s Ben Proud, who won silver in the Paris Olympics in the 50m freestyle.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While Wikipedia confirms the event's existence and a web search mentions Fred Kerley, there is no comprehensive evidence in the provided results confirming the specific trio of Magnussen, Kerley, and Proud as participants. The Wikipedia results provided for this claim are largely irrelevant (Epistle of James, underwear models).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Enhanced Games (TEG) is a multi-sport event. Founded by Australian businessman Aron D'Souza, it allows athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subject to drug tests; organiz…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Games
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Enhanced Games were the inaugural edition Enhanced Games which took place on 24 May 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event served as the debut for the organization's model and featured competit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Enhanced_Games
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of male underwear models. This is not a complete list and includes men who have modeled underwear as well as fashion apparel from all over the world. This list excludes models …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_male_underwear_models
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“those competing in the Enhanced Games can use US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved performance-enhancing substances under a proposed framework of medical supervision.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (Wikipedia, a sponsor message, and a report on Witold Banka) confirm that competitors are permitted to use FDA-approved performance-enhancing substances under medical supervision.
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
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web search NEUTRAL — Sponsor Message. Enhanced Games competitors are allowed to use performance-enhancing drugs that are banned in internationally recognized sporting events. According to the company , the drugs are FDA-a…
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/24/nx-s1-5831252/enhanced-games-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Speaking to reporters at an event in London on Thursday,, external Banka described the Enhanced Games - which permits competitors to use performance-enhancing substances under medical supervision - as…
https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/c4gpwk0lpy2o
info
“Any records set won’t be ratified by international sporting federations”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists only of dictionary definitions of the word 'international' and does not address whether sporting federations will ratify records.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — International mostly means something (a company, language, or organization) involving more than a single country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompas…
https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Discover the full range of trucks from International®. Driver-centric, durable and endlessly versatile. Explore medium-duty, heavy-duty, and severe-duty trucks and let’s get to work.
https://www.international.com/products/trucks
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · The meaning of INTERNATIONAL is of, relating to, or affecting two or more nations. How to use international in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/international
help
“In our newly accepted paper in the Journal of Drug Issues, we analysed 13 key YouTube interviews featuring the founder of the Enhanced Games, Australian tech entrepreneur Aron D'Souza.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a paper in the Journal of Drug Issues analyzing Aron D'Souza's interviews.
info
“A favourite study cited by D'Souza claims 40% (or more) of elite athletes use PEDs, even though only about 2% get caught.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results provided for this claim are generic links to study websites (Study.com, STUDY4) and do not contain the specific study or claim cited by D'Souza.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Master any subject with Studley AI. Trusted by more than 2,000,000 top students. Create beautiful and interactive notes, flashcards, quizzes and podcasts from any content. Study smarter, not harder.
https://www.studley.ai/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Need a Study.com Account? Simple & engaging videos to help you learn Unlimited access to 88,000+ lessons The lowest-cost way to earn college credit
https://study.com/academy/login.html
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — STUDY4 - học tiếng Anh và luyện thi online TOEIC, IELTS, SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT.
https://study4.com/
help
“Mandatory blood testing for health markers is invasive and strips choice away from athletes.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding mandatory blood testing requirements for the Enhanced Games.
schedule
“athletes are given drug protocols – they are told which drugs can be used, in which quantities and for how long.”
PENDING
schedule
“athletes are paid mid-to-high six-figure salaries simply to take part”
PENDING
schedule
“a study that found the number of athletes competing with valid exemptions at the Olympic Games is less than 1%, with no association between being granted an exemption and winning a medal.”
PENDING
schedule
“Beyond social media, the Enhanced Games has some rich and powerful backers. These include 1789 Capital (Donald Trump Jr’s fund) and Peter Thiel”
PENDING
schedule
“In 2026, the FDA, under Robert F. Kennedy Jr, loosened restrictions on testosterone prescribing and certain peptides.”
PENDING
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.