Swimming Organization Moves to Suppress Fabricated Quotes Attributed to Star Athlete Mollie O’Callaghan
Swimming Australia has moved to shut down labeled as “false information” and “fabricated quotes” attributed to Olympic champion Mollie O’Callaghan about transgender athlete Lia Thomas.
Online Content Circulate False Statements
Remarks linked to O’Callaghan but not published from her online platforms has been seen in updates on Meta platform Facebook, as well as on the platform X, and claimed the swimming star would boycott in the Los Angeles Olympics if a transgender athlete is permitted to compete.
These words wrongly credited to O’Callaghan contained a provocative statement that “being in the same lane with Lia Thomas is truly an disgrace and a shame”.
Formal Response from Swimming Australia
The organization supported the gold medalist in a release labeled with “fake quotes attributed to Australian team member Mollie O’Callaghan”.
“There are currently false statements linked to team member Mollie O’Callaghan circulating on platform posts,” the organization announced this past Sunday.
“At no stage has O’Callaghan spoken to media and made statements on transgender athletes.
“Facebook’s parent company has been informed of the fake news, and O’Callaghan and the federation have requested the posts to be deleted.”
Current Status and Context
Posts that feature the comment linked to O’Callaghan were still visible on the platform on the following day, while a Meta spokesperson commented that “we are looking into the demand”.
The federation refused to give more details.
American trans swimmer Lia Thomas is prohibited from racing in the female category under current World Aquatics regulations and was unable to challenge the rules in the period before the recent Games.
World Aquatics put in place regulations in recent years which forbid anyone who has undergone “any part of male development” from the female category.
About Mollie O’Callaghan
O’Callaghan is a five-time champion after beating fellow Australian Ariarne Titmus in the 200-meter freestyle championship race at the Paris event along with contributing to four relay team triumphs.
The 21-year-old added a 200-meter freestyle world title to her honours in Japan in recent months.
O’Callaghan was racing in a international competition in Indiana over the weekend and beat the opponents by a significant margin to claim the freestyle race in a new best of a record time.
