Blocking a Torrent of Hate: FIFA's Crusade Against Online Abuse 🚫🤬
FIFA filters out millions of offensive remarks to protect athletes' online interactions
Hate comments on social media towards athletes are rampant, a tidal wave of vitriol that's tough to keep afloat. FIFA steps in, providing a lifesaver with their anti-harassment technology, the Social Media Protection Service (SMPS).
Since its debut at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, SMPS has been a shining star at an astounding 23 tournaments, including qualifying and friendly matches. FIFA announced that the service has already blocked over ten million malicious comments directed at teams, coaches, and athletes.
Over 33 million posts and comments have been scrutinized across 15,302 accounts, all in a bid to safeguard the well-being of the athletes from the digital maelstrom that is digital hate and potential psychological stress. Artificial intelligence is the secret weapon behind SMPS, effortlessly sieving through hate messages and keeping them out of players' sight.
SMPS is also on duty during the current Club World Cup, and since 2024, it's been a permanent resource available to all FIFA member associations and their players. A study conducted by FIFA found a concerning trend: female footballers were more vulnerable to cyberbullying than their male counterparts during the 2023 and 2022 World Cups.
The DFB and Legal Battles Against Hate 🏈⚖️
In a world where hate comments run amok, many athletes take their grievances public. Recently, the German Football Association (DFB) reported a barrage of hateful comments aimed at their national defender, Antonio Rüdiger, to the General Public Prosecutor's Office in Frankfurt am Main. The Real Madrid pro was subjected to a string of insults on DFB's social media pages following a heated Spanish Cup final against Barcelona.
The comments forwarded to the prosecutor's office could potentially meet the criteria for incitement to hatred, marking a small but vile chapter in the already ballooning tale of personal insults and threats.
Standing Tall Against the Tide of Internet Abuse 💪💼
Anti-Defamation is not a foreign concept to the DFB. They've been working closely with the General Public Prosecutor's Office in Frankfurt for nearly two years now, taking care of all relevant criminal proceedings. Their duty to support the players is not just moral, but necessary because unfortunately, social media platforms are falling short on their responsibilities.
While insults and slander require an application for prosecution in Germany, incitement to hatred is considered an official offense. The DFB advocates for changes to the law, proposed suggestions resembling the criminal offense of insulting politicians, which came into effect in 2021. With such a change, it would be enough to report the offense, no further criminal complaint needed.
This proposed change would extend to more than just footballers, encompassing track and field athletes, handball players, volleyball players, and anyone who dons the German national jersey, a unified front against the relentless tide of internet hate.
The Commission has not yet adopted a proposal for a directive regarding the legal battles against hate, unlike FIFA's approach towards online abuse in sports, specifically in football. In contrast to the commendable efforts of FIFA's Social Media Protection Service, the German Football Association (DFB) reports hateful comments aimed at players, such as Antonio Rüdiger, and takes these matters to the General Public Prosecutor's Office in Frankfurt am Main, focusing on incitement to hatred as a criminal offense.
