The European Union has been mocked after suggesting it was the true victor of the Rio Olympics in a tweet which compared the number of medals won by its member states to those of China and the US.

"Huge congratulations to all the European winners and participants at # Rio2016, you did brilliantly!" the EU Parliament's official Twitter account stated.

The message was accompanied by a graphic which showed the European Union standing in first place on an Olympic podium, while the United States took second place and China languished in third place.