Fact Check
An online article read, "Questions Surround Simone Biles As Investigation Dives Into Her 'Performance Enhancers.'"
Jordan Liles
Published Aug. 13, 2024
");}else if(is_tablet()){slot_number++;document.write("
Advertisment:
");}
Claim:
An Olympic commission investigated Simone Biles for taking performance-enhancing drugs during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Rating:
FalseAbout this ratingDuring the 2024 Paris Olympics, an online rumor appearing in at least one Facebook ad claimed an Olympic commission was investigating 11-time Olympic medalist and U.S. gymnast Simone Biles for using performance-enhancing drugs, specifically naming a purported weight-loss product called Rapid Lean Keto + ACV Gummies.
At the same time users shared this rumor, Biles was busy winning four new Olympic medals. The Associated Press reported, "The woman who didn't think she'd even be here a couple of years ago will leave Paris — and perhaps her final Olympics — with three golds and a silver and something perhaps even more valuable: peace."
This rumor was both false and part of a dangerous, long-running scam promoting supposed weight-loss products called keto gummies.
Facebook Ad: 'New Questions Swirl Around Gymnast'
One Facebook ad displaying to users on Aug. 12, 2024, showed a photo of Biles with the false claim, "New Questions Swirl Around Gymnast."
Meta, Facebook's parent company, accepted money to display this ad to users. The ad existed for at least several days on the social media platform.
As we have previously reported, similar Facebook and Instagram ads target other famous people — such as Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Kaley Cuoco, Oprah Winfrey, Kelly Clarkson and others — by falsely saying they endorsed keto gummies, purportedly for weight loss.
In reality, no famous people have ever endorsed any products described as keto gummies for weight loss.
Fake ESPN Article Promotes False Biles Rumor
The link included with the ad directed users to a fake ESPN article hosted on the scam website therightchoicetrc.com.
ESPN.com never published this article. Scammers copied the design of the website in an attempt to fool users into believing it was genuine.
That story and all of its false claims began as follows:
Questions Surround Simone Biles As Investigation Dives Into Her 'Performance Enhancers'
(ESPN) - With a total of 37 Olympic and World Championship medals under her belt at the age of 27, there is no doubt that Simone Biles is one of the greatest gymnasts of our time. However, her most recent blood test is raising eyebrows within the Olympic Commission.
According to the report, her Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) was incredibly high, indicating a higher resting metabolism, and she had an outrageously high Resting Energy Expenditure (REE). What does this mean to someone without a doctorate in Health Science? According to her charts Simone is somehow able to burn calories at 145% higher than average.
Simone credits her incredible metabolism to the popular supplement, Rapid Lean, a popular weight loss product, that has yet to be banned by the Olympics.
For the average user, Rapid Lean is a product that is purported to be highly a effective weight loss supplement, but in the hands of a pro athlete, the results appear to be a complete game changer.
When asked about the controversy surrounding Rapid Lean, Simone responded with this:
"I understand the concern people have, but Rapid Lean is not a dangerous performance enhancer. It's simply a natural product that helps me boost energy and burn fat. And frankly, more people need to know about it."
Again, Biles never made these statements, nor did she endorse Rapid Lean Keto + ACV Gummies or any keto gummies.
About Rapid Lean Keto + ACV Gummies
The links displayed in the fake ESPN article directed users to another scam page hosted on rapidleanbrands.com. That page falsely claimed CBS News, NBC, CNN, Women's Health, Dr. Mehmet Oz and other sources provided favorable endorsem*nts of the gummies.
The same page also misleadingly advertised "free" bottles. In reality, users making purchases on the website receive charges amounting to hundreds of dollars as part of monthly subscriptions.
The Rapid Lean Keto + ACV Gummies website listed care@buyrapidlean.com as an email address. The website featured in the email address — buyrapidlean.com — listed its purported "location" as a mailbox inside a UPS Store in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
Our past research into these scams found customer service personnel assigned to field inquiries from victims of these scams follow specific protocols. Those protocols generally only offer a 50% refund to customers asking for all of their money back. Readers who fall victim to these scams should immediately and without delay contact their credit card company to alert them to the scam. Further, ask if it's possible to obtain a full refund and to block future monthly charges from the same seller.
FTC Takes Action Against Alleged Gummy Scammers
On July 1, just weeks before these scam ads showing Biles started circulating on Facebook, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced in a news release its action against "two related groups" that allegedly defrauded consumers nationwide by signing them up for similar recurring charges without their consent. It's unclear if, or to what extent, they included creators of the scam targeting Biles.
The release began:
A U.S. district court in central Florida today unsealed a Federal Trade Commission complaint charging two related groups of defendants with defrauding consumers nationwide by enrolling them, without their knowledge, into continuity plans where they are shipped and charged repeatedly for personal care products that they did not agree to purchase.
The defendants allegedly deceived consumers with ads for "free" CBD and Keto-related personal care products, billing many for products they did not consent to purchase, signing many up for unwanted continuity plans, and debiting money from their bank accounts without prior authorization. In addition, the FTC alleges that some of the defendants laundered credit card payments by setting up bank accounts for shell companies using straw signers.
"These defendants bilked consumers out of millions of dollars by repeatedly charging them for products they never ordered or agreed to purchase," said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "The FTC is committed to aggressively pursuing companies and individuals involved in these unauthorized billing scams."
For further reading, we previously reported about the fact scammers also promoted the same scam with NBA star LeBron James' image and likeness.
By Jordan Liles
Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.
Advertisment:
Article Tags
ScamsKetoSimone Biles2024 Olympics
");}}// Page is not a test page, add the sticky adelse{// Create the inner div elementvar innerDiv = document.createElement("div");innerDiv.className = ad_name;// Get a reference to the body elementvar body = document.getElementsByTagName("body")[0];// Insert the outer div as the first child of the bodybody.insertBefore(innerDiv, body.firstChild);}
');}
