FIFA data shows one in five players at Women’s World Cup were sent online abuse
One in five players at the Women’s World Cup were targeted by abuse online (Zac Goodwin/PA)
One in five players at this year’s Women’s World Cup were the targets of online abuse.
New data published by FIFA found 152 players out of 697 whose social media accounts were actively monitored received targeted discriminatory, abusive or threatening messaging during the finals.
Homophobic, sexual and sexist abuse accounted for more than half of the abusive posts identified by FIFA’s Social Media Protection Service (SMPS).
Players at the finals in Australia and New Zealand were found to be 29 per cent more likely to be targeted for online abuse than their counterparts at the men’s finals in Qatar.
Players at the finals were given the opportunity to opt in to the SMPS moderation service, which can intercept and hide abusive messages from view.
SMPS scanned more than five million social posts in total, with 102,511 posts flagged by AI for human review. Of those, 7,085 were subsequently verified as discriminatory, abusive or threatening and reported to platforms.
While United States and Argentina players suffered the highest volume of abuse, the FIFA data found there were 637 verified instances of abuse linked to the final between England and Spain.
The study found spikes in abusive posts and messages linked to the news that members of Britain’s Royal Family would not attend the match, and to a good luck message from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The conduct of Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales following the final created a significant spike in abusive and misogynistic content, FIFA found.
Luis Rubiales’ conduct at the final led to a spike in abusive and misogynistic posts (Isabel Infantes/PA)
Rubiales was banned for three years in
Read on belfasttelegraph.co.uk
