L.A.’s Olympic bid reportedly draws ‘suspicious’ support from unexpected places
When the Facebook page for Los Angeles’ 2024 Summer Olympic bid surpassed 1 million “likes” this week, officials issued a news release celebrating the campaign’s “engagement with young people worldwide.”
Now a report commissioned by the Associated Press has found a startling percentage of those fans come from far-flung countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, Egypt, India and Afghanistan.
The report, prepared by Socialbakers of the Czech Republic, stated that LA 2024’s likes had grown by more than 700,000 in the last six weeks.
“The fan growth evolution for the LA2024 Facebook page does seem suspicious,” analyst Michaela Branova was quoted as saying. “Countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan suddenly spike from almost zero to tens of thousands of fans within a few days in February.”
The sudden increase may have been triggered by the bid committee’s international advertising campaign on the social-media platform.
LA 2024 officials, in Denmark to speak at an international sports convention, could not be reached for comment.
The private committee has made social media a key element in its campaign, touting its ability to reach a young demographic on not only Facebook but also Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.
The Associated Press reported that, while L.A.’s numbers have risen dramatically this year, the rival bid from Paris has also seen a strong uptick in Facebook fans.
Follow @LAtimesWharton on Twitter
ALSO
L.A. Olympic bid leaders make their case before international audience
LA 2024 leaders talk with Olympic officials about possible 2028 bid
State analyst calls L.A. Olympic bid ‘fairly low risk’ but warns of possible pitfalls
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
