The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics has been plagued with bad news stories. Prior to the Olympics, it was all about Russia’s poor human rights (especially their stance on gays).
Then it changed gear to whether the Olympic site would actually be ready (with reports only 6 of the 9 media hotels completed a couple days before the Opening Ceremony).
And now the stories have become so unbelievable that the line between what is truth and what is fiction is not so much blurry, as completely invisible. There are reports of stray dogs in hotel rooms, horribly racist abuse online, murders being treated as ‘accidental’ and hotel guests being spied on while showering.
Things are so terrible that the Twitter handle #SochiProblems has gone viral. Here are the big stories everyone is talking about:
1. Don’t drink the water. Even if you get lucky and some comes out of the tap.
On the 4th of February, twitter exploded with journalists complaining of a major water shut down. And when the water came back on, it wasn’t exactly…well…tasty.
My hotel has no water. If restored, the front desk says, “do not use on your face because it contains something very dangerous.” #Sochi2014
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014
Water restored, sorta. On the bright side, I now know what very dangerous face water looks like. #Sochi #unfiltered pic.twitter.com/sQWM0vYtyz
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014
Also on the bright side: I just washed my face with Evian, like I’m a Kardashian or something.
— Stacy St. Clair (@StacyStClair) February 4, 2014
2. The most prestigious gig in the games has gone to a racist.
The issue? The way she conducts herself publicly leaves a lot to be desired. In September 2013, she tweeted this photo of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama with a banana… seemingly to suggest that the African-American president and his wife were apes.
Seriously. Off.
According to the Guardian, in response (and after deleting the tweet) Rodnina said there was nothing wrong with the photograph and that it had been sent to her by friends in America. “Freedom of speech is freedom of speech, and you should answer for your own hang-ups.”
3. Journos are being spied on. While in the shower.
It is not surprising that the journalists covering the Winter Olympics in Sochi are being spied on. This is just assumed. What is not assumed is that their showering habits are of particular interest to Russian authorities.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Deputy Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak let it slip that he had footage of journalists showering. To be fair he was trying to give an example of how the journalists were purposefully trying to sabotage the state of the Olympics.
“Dmitry Kozak, the deputy prime minister responsible for the Olympic preparations, seemed to reflect the view held among many Russian officials that some Western visitors are deliberately trying to sabotage Sochi’s big debut out of bias against Russia.
“We have surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the nozzle at the wall and then leave the room for the whole day,” he said. An aide then pulled a reporter away before Mr. Kozak could be questioned further on surveillance in hotel rooms. “We’re doing a tour of the media center,” the aide said.”
Oops.
4. Russia does not make mistakes. And when it does? Someone dies.
Over the weekend, news sites were alive with what happened after the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony stuff up. In case you didn’t tune in, at one stage there were five electronic snowflakes. They were supposed to morph into the 5 Olympic rings. Four of them co-operated with one remaining as a snowflake.
This followed with a news story (now confirmed as a hoax) that the technical specialist was found dead in his Sochi hotel room with multiple stab wounds. Authorities confirmed that they were investigating it as an accidental death.
What is scary is that this story was so believable by so many it went viral. It is the kind of story we are expecting to surface from the games.
The true story though is that the Russian network covering the Opening Ceremony switched feeds from the live Opening Ceremony to the rehearsal show. Why? Because all the snowflakes participated in the rehearsal. So all of Russia was informed that the Opening Ceremony went perfectly smoothly.
5. The toilets. Oh the toilets. They come in pairs and please don’t flush.
The toilets could have an entire webpage, Twitter and Facebook site dedicated to them.
Haha RT @RunKnitTravel: “@ManeynMorning: Please don’t pee on the seat! #sochiproblems pic.twitter.com/hT1ICxoBRZ” Found the other side!
— Maney Kiss (@ManeynMorning) February 7, 2014
NO LINE, YOU COME #SochiProblems pic.twitter.com/tTMARzpDOL
— Sochi Hotel Manager (@HotelSochiRu) February 6, 2014
Judging panel seating is complete! In Sochi the competition never stops. #SochiProblems #Sochi2014 pic.twitter.com/4bVlKs67Fr
— Sochi Problems (@sochireport) February 6, 2014
People have asked me what surprised me the most here in Sochi. It’s this. Without question … it’s … THIS. pic.twitter.com/1jj05FNdCP
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) February 4, 2014
With the Games finally starting, all Russian officials are hoping the attention will be turned to the athletes. And that they behave. And not tweet anything.
Are you watching the winter olympics? How are you enjoying the Games? Do you think all of these reports are true? Or are some of the stories just hoaxes….
Top Comments
That looks like Adelaide water.
The water in Adelaide is terrible, but the funny thing is Adelaide people proudly telling me that it's better than it was.
It's still crap though.
The line 'now confirmed as a hoax' with regards to the Olympic official dying made me laugh. It's not a 'hoax', it is a satirical news story from The Currant. I often see friends posting Onion or Currant stories to Facebook that they have sourced via another site completely oblivious to the fact that EVERY SINGLE STORY published there is satire, some of it really out-there and hilarious and some that are so close to real news some people can't tell the difference. I think the lesson is if you don't immediately recognise the publisher as a news site (or even if you do, sometimes!) just Google the story before reacting! 10 extra seconds to avoid looking like an idiot :)