Viral prayer video captured months before Paris Olympics | Fact check

The claim: Video shows worship service in Paris after Olympics opening ceremony

A July 28 Facebook video ( direct link , archive link ) shows a large group of people singing in French and waving signs in front of the Eiffel Tower.

"A HUGE worship service praising the mighty name of Jesus happening in Paris after the satanic and blasphemous Olympics Opening Ceremony," the post's caption reads in part.

The post was shared more than 400 times in two days. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Facebook , Instagram , Threads , and X, formerly Twitter .

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Our rating: False

The scene shown here has nothing to do with the Olympics. The video was captured at a Christian march on May 25, more than two months before the opening ceremony.

Prayer video predates opening ceremony

Many Christian and Catholic organizations around the world denounced the Olympic opening ceremony's depiction of the painting "The Last Supper," in which a naked man painted blue posed as the Greek god Dionysus on a plate surrounded by food.

But the claim in the post is false. The prayer service shown in the video took place months before the Olympics, not after the opening ceremony.

The video includes the Instagram handle of a Christian nonprofit named Jean-Luc Trachsel Ministries , which shared the video May 25, more than two months before the opening ceremony. The ministry's post makes no mention of the Olympics.

Pictures and videos of the event were shared on Instagram days later by a performer and an organizer , the Paris branch of the Christian nonprofit March for Jesus.

"This Saturday, May 25, 2024, we come together to lift up the name of Jesus in our cities and nations so that His power may be fully manifested in our unity," reads the caption of the nonprofit's post.

Fact check : Post shows 2023 photoshoot, not Chinese Olympic uniform

Details about that event, which reportedly attracted more than 20,000 people, are listed on the Marche Pour Jésus France website , and several Christian news outlets reported on the gathering at the time .

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• Jean-Luc Trachsel Ministries, May 25, Instagram post
• Hillsong FR, May 26, Instagram post
• Marche Pour Jésus Paris, June 1, Instagram post
• Marche Pour Jésus France, accessed July 30, Paris
• Christian Broadcasting Network, May 29, 25,000 Flood Streets of Paris to March for Jesus, Many 'Saved, Healed, Baptized in the Holy Spirit'
• Evangelical Focus, May 28, Over 20,000 march for Jesus in Paris

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Viral prayer video captured months before Paris Olympics | Fact check