They are letting men box women at the Olympics

Two Olympic boxers have found themselves at the centre of a fractious controversy in recent days, following a decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow them to compete in Paris.

Thousands of comments - and numerous news articles – have claimed Algeria's Imane Khelif and Taiwan’s Lin Yu-Ting are "biological men" who should not be allowed to compete in women’s boxing.

One video of Khelif fighting in 2022 has been reposted by 37,000 accounts on X in recent days, receiving millions of views. It describes her as a man "cheating in the Olympics."

Yet an examination of the evidence for such claims made against both boxers shows they appear based almost wholly on a single statement from a Russian official published in the form of a Telegram post last March.

While much of the reporting and commentary has described the two boxers as 'transgender' there is also no evidence or public pronouncements that show either athlete identifies as transgender.

They have both competed as women throughout their careers.

“Everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules,” IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said. ”They are women in their passports and it’s stated that this is the case, that they are female.”