This is why videos of Raygun’s viral Olympic breakdancing performance are being deleted from the internet
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
When something goes big on the internet a tsunami of memes and videos follows with the explosive inevitability of vomiting after eating medium rare chicken.
This has certainly been the case with Australian breakdancer Raygun, whose 'hilariously ridiculous' performance at the Olympics sent the internet into a viral frenzy.
Raygun - real name Rachael Gunn - didn't manage to impress the judges and ended up scoring zero across the board at the Paris Games.
Now, we are in the stage where the internet is being inundated with the memes and comments around the 36-year-old's breaking performance.
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But as they go up in floods, some eagle-eyed internet users might also be noticing that the clips are also starting to disappear online.
And there is a very specific reason as to why this may be happening.
The videos might be posted online, but that most certainly does not release them from the laws governing who can post what.
So if you are posting something which has flagged up, then it's possible that your post will get removed because of it.
This is, of course, a matter of who holds the copyright over the footage of Raygun's viral performance.
And in the case, the clips are owned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
While there might be an army of people sharing and posting videos from the viral moment, there are also people who are working to have the copyright-violating posts removed.
In fact, the IOC has been relentless in its pursuit of any posts which violate copyright law and issued a number of notices for anyone found to be posting without its permission.
These posts would violate the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act).
And yes, this includes sharing them to your social media feeds on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
So if you want to avoid your account being served a notice for posting copyrighted material it might be best to avoid those memes.
Raygun's performance sparked controversy at the Olympics, with some people questioning how she was selected to represent Australia.
In her first statement since her appearance, Raygun opened up about her experience at the Olympics.
In a video posted on August 15, she said: "I really appreciate the positivity and I'm glad I was able to bring some joy into your lives, that's what I hoped."
Raygun continued: "I didn't realize that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating.
"But I went out there and had fun.
"I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave it my all, truly. And I am honored to have been part of the Australian team and part of Australia's breaking debut."