“There has been no deal with China to censor the Internet,” stated International Olympic Committee spokeswoman Giselle Davies according to Associated Press. The controversy began, AP reported on July 31, “when Kevan Gosper, the press commission head of the IOC, said he was surprised to learn that Web sites for Amnesty International along with others … would be blocked to reporters,” and also said he suspected that “an agreement has been reached” with China “by very senior people in the IOC.”

At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, female gymnasts He Kesin, Yang Yilin, and Jiang Yuyuan electrified the Chinese with their stellar performances. But even as China celebrated, controversy was brewing over whether or not the athletes met the age requirements for competition established by the International Gymnastics Federation.

According to the technology news Website Arstechnica, the Nike shoe company has "decided to put the Chinese government's finely-tuned dissident-hunting skills to work in order to turn up an anonymous conspiracy theorist who posted a 'false accusation' about the company."