The Paralympics TikTok account uses humor to capture its audience. But people in disability communities are split on whether the strategy is appropriate.
reported that 1.8 billion people from 25 countries tuned into the Athens 2004 Games and 4.1 billion in 154 countries watched the Rio 2016 Games; they expectedcould bring in even more viewers, in part due to increasing media coverage and promotion of the Paralympics — including the Paralympics official TikTok account, which has gone viral on and off for the better part of the last year.
Much of the content showcases athlete performances. But the account has been criticized for its use of trending sounds that can seem to make light of the athletes' performance, or even poke fun at them. In one video,triumphant snippet of cyclist Darren Hicks Michelle, who is 23, told PS,"I'm scared it will reinforce this idea that Paralympic athletes are not real athletes. I think disabled people making jokes about themselves is great but maybe it would open the door for other people making the same kind of videos and not taking the athletes seriously."
When comparing the Paralympic account's content strategy to that of the official Olympic account, clear disparities are apparent. The Olympics account showcases athletes at the peak of their performance, offering insight into the history of various sports and interviews with notable Olympic figures. For example, the Darren Hicks video, from April 2024, racked up seven million views and over 800K likes. A funny but admiring video posted a month later showingcompeting in three sports, set to a trending sound saying,"So you're this. but you're also this. And you're this? How does anybody date you?" earned around 40K views and under one thousand likes.
Hannah Turner Standard Fitness Identity Sports Olympics Athletes Disability Tiktok
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