The Chairman of the National Paralympic Committee, Samson Deen, has urged the public to stop sharing images of the original Paralympic team athletes on social media.

He pointed out that since the Norway Visa Scandal became public, many media outlets have been mistakenly sharing images of the original team athletes instead of the actual culprits involved in the fraudulent act.

Deen emphasized that this misrepresentation could harm the reputation of the innocent athletes who will be representing Ghana at the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

In an interview with Onua FM, Deen appealed to the public to cease sharing these images and advised media outlets to issue disclaimers for the pictures they have already posted on social media.

“We will plead with all the media outlets to explain for Ghanaians to understand that the images shared on Instagram, X, and other social media platforms should have a disclaimer. The images in circulation are not the people who were involved in the scandal but rather the original Paralympic athletes who will be representing Ghana at the Paris Olympics.

"Why would you use the team’s image to represent the wrong people/culprits? So, those sharing the original team’s image on social media to tarnish their reputation should put a stop to it, else it will damage the image of our sports,” he said in Twi.

This statement follows Saddick Adams' revelation that the supposed Paralympic team was actually a group of impersonators posing as members of the real team, who managed to get to Norway with the intention of absconding.

Adams mentioned that there are often fake teams trying to exploit travel opportunities meant for genuine para teams, recalling an incident where a fake amputee was prevented by a court from traveling ahead of the real team.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports and the President of the Paralympic team have both confirmed that the real Paralympic team members were not involved in the scandal and have vowed to take action against the culprits.

SB/OGB