Debunking the conspiracy theories around Australia’s B-Girl Raygun

The GIST: A viral, memeable moment from the Paris Olympics has quickly become clouded by hate and malicious lies, with some falsely claiming that Australian B-Girl Raygun, aka, Rachael Gunn, conspired her way into the Games.

The context: Gunn performed one of the most…memorable breaking routines in Paris, taking over the Internet with her kangaroo dance and ultimately failing to earn any points.

• The 36-year-old said she was bringing “creativity” to breaking with her original moves, as she knew she couldn’t match her younger competitors’ power. Fair enough.

The misinformation: After the Games, false claims began to spread that Gunn, as well as her husband and coach Samuel Free, manipulated the Australian breaking qualification process so that she could compete.

• The rumor mill swirled so quickly that a change.org petition calling for a “full investigation” into Gunn garnered 57K signatures. It has since been taken down following demands from the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).

The facts: Neither Gunn nor her husband have held positions of authority in Australian breaking organizations, and Gunn secured her Olympic spot fair and square last October, earning the highest marks from a panel of nine judges, none of whom were Australian.

• The AOC is fully defending Gunn and has decried the harassment and bullying she’s faced, while Gunn herself is asking for privacy, calling the online hate she’s received “devastating.” Enough is enough.