{"id":419972,"date":"2026-02-11T13:43:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T13:43:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/419972\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T13:43:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T13:43:24","slug":"are-the-olympics-really-using-ai-slop-to-promote-the-winter-games-news-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/419972\/","title":{"rendered":"Are the Olympics really using ‘AI slop’ to promote the Winter Games? | News Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"A
\n\t\tX users have criticised recent posts for being \u2018AI slop\u2019 (Picture: Metro)<\/p>\n

Officials behind the Winter<\/a> Olympic Games<\/a> have confirmed to Metro that controversial promotional images were edited with AI <\/a>tools. <\/p>\n

Over the last few days, social media<\/a> users have accused the official Olympics\u2019 X account of posting \u2018AI slop\u2019.<\/p>\n

The posts have included posters featuring miniature athletes playing sports on food and a cartoon of actor Sabrina Impacciatore skiing.<\/p>\n

But X users have criticised the \u2018lazy\u2019 images, alleging they were digitally rendered rather than designed by humans.<\/p>\n

\u2018What\u2019s with the GenAI slopfest? said one user, referring to generative AI<\/a>. \u2018Hire an actual artist, you cheap [clowns].\u2019<\/p>\n

Another added: \u2018The games for human excellence being represented by no-effort, anti-human AI slop.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\"A
\n\t\tA cartoon of Sabrina Impacciatore skiing was posted last week (Picture: @Olympics)<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Olympics
\n\t\tThe game\u2019s official social media account shared various posters to highlight the sports (Picture: @Olympics)<\/p>\n

Some pointed out that the images appear to clash with the Olympics\u2019 guidelines <\/a>about its rings, which say the symbol should not be altered.<\/p>\n

One poster, which shows an athlete riding a penne pasta as a bobsleigh,shows the Olympic yellow ring not overlapping the black ring.<\/p>\n

The intensity of the Winter Olympics is here! \u2744\ufe0f\ud83d\udd25Feel the rush of adrenaline with Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Freestyle Skiing, Luge, Ski Jumping, and Speed Skating. Get ready for the ultimate showdown of speed, skill, and pure passion as athletes push their limits on\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/9Z1xJfDUYO<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Olympic Games (@Olympics) February 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

In response to a cartoon graphic of Impacciatore, meanwhile, a user pointed out that the rings appeared almost smeared. <\/p>\n

Dr Talent Moyo, an expert in sports business management at Birmingham City University, told Metro that the Olympic rings are a symbol of \u2018unity\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018Changing any branding elements of the Olympic Games could do some permanent damage to the brand image,\u2019 Dr Moyo said.<\/p>\n

\u2018The tells are all there\u2019, says AI image expert<\/p>\n

Metro also asked tech experts to run the posters through their AI detection tool<\/a>, which uses algorithms to pick up on tiny signs that distinguish images made with computers from those by humans.<\/p>\n

One programme, identifAI<\/a>, found that most of the posters contained elements that may have been artificially generated. <\/p>\n

Nick Knupffer, the co-founder of VerifyLabs.AI<\/a>, said: \u2018On the whole, the\u00a0posters themselves look\u00a0like they are mostly made by a human\u00a0but the images in the\u00a0middle are AI.<\/p>\n

\u2018Either Midjourney or Stable Diffusion, definitely\u00a0not Nano Banana, Adobe Firefly or anything else typically used.\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Olympics
\n\t\tSome of the posters had a higher artificial score than others (Picture: identifAI)<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Olympics
\n\t\tOlympics officials said the posters were designed by a team of people (Picture: identifAI)<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Olympics
\n\t\tX users described some of the promotional material as \u2018lazy\u2019 (Picture: identifAI_)<\/p>\n

Generative AI creates content, like images, by identifying patterns in data and then producing original material that has similar characteristics.<\/p>\n

This often leaves the images with \u2018tells\u2019 that they were synthetically rendered<\/a>, said Nathan Marlor, head of data and AI at\u00a0Version 1<\/a>, <\/p>\n

An example of this, Marlor says, is that a billboard behind Impacciatore appears to be based on a poster for the 1936 Nazi-sponsored Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen<\/a>, Germany.<\/p>\n

\u2018No sane designer, no human with even a passing knowledge of Olympic history, would drop that into a feel-good ceremony montage,\u2019 Marlor says.<\/p>\n

\u2018But an AI model doesn\u2019t know what 1936 means. It just knows \u201cWinter Olympics poster\u201d and grabs what fits the aesthetic.\u2019<\/p>\n

What did the Olympics say?<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Curling
\n\t\tThe winter games are being held in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, Italy (Picture: Richard Heathcote\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The International\u00a0Olympic\u00a0Committee (IOC) confirmed to Metro that the posters were designed by a team of 12 over four months. <\/p>\n

The team included a creative director, art director, copywriter, designer, illustrator and visual artist.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson added: \u2018It took many hours of hands-on work, from the first concepts through to final production.<\/p>\n

\u2018A combination of tools and techniques were used. AI tools were used at different stages in the process, both during early sketching and illustration. <\/p>\n

\u2018Each visual was then developed, refined and transformed through extensive manual work by professional creatives, shaped by artistic judgement, feedback and careful craft.<\/p>\n

\u2018The posters follow the IOC brand and digital guidelines, which are constantly and rapidly evolving to adapt to the fast pace of the social media world.\u2019<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arrow
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\nMORE: Winter Olympian admits to cheating on girlfriend on live TV moments after winning medal<\/a><\/p>\n

Arrow
\nMORE: \u2018I\u2019m a child \u2013 here\u2019s why I\u2019m friends with my AI chatbot\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n


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