- Report demonstrates utility of social media moderation service, which protected nearly 700 players and coaches
- Over the past 12 months, this service has been used at eight FIFA competitions
- Gianni Infantino believes that Internet users who insult players and referees can no longer “hide”
FIFA and FIFPRO, the international players' union, jointly publish a investigation report on the activities of the social media moderation service during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™. The conclusions are clear: this innovative approach reduced the exposure of players, teams and referees to hate speech online. This report includes several interesting statistics on the number of comments analyzed, the extent of the protection offered and the different types of hidden insults.
In total, 5,1 million publications in 35 languages were reviewed; 697 players and coaches who own 2 accounts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube have benefited from the protection of this service. Additionally, 111 active accounts held by 239 referees and the 29 participating teams also benefited from coverage.
It emerges from the study of the figures that:
- 1 in 5 players (152) affected by the 2023 Women's World Cup have been the subject of discriminatory, insulting or threatening publications
- Comments of a homophobic, sexual or sexist nature represent nearly 50% of the insults observed*
- The odds of a 2023 Women's World Cup player being targeted with online insults were 29% higher than those of a 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ player.
The moderation service on social networks is intended to be a response to a problem that has unfortunately become recurring in modern football. Australia & New Zealand 2023 marks its seventh use since its launch, alongside Qatar 2022. The service was also activated during the FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023™. In practice, it uses artificial intelligence (AI) to protect participants from online insults, “clean up” their news feeds and allow them to focus on their performance. It also prevents their subscribers from being exposed to such comments.
“People who insult or threaten others, whether during FIFA competitions or in other circumstances, have no place on social media,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “Through the FIFA Social Media Moderation Service, established a year ago with the support of FIFPRO, FIFA has helped reduce the exposure of players, teams and officials to abuse and hate messages online by reporting and hiding more than 400.000 comments. Discrimination has no place in football or in society. Together, we say: NO TO DISCRIMINATION! »
As part of the monitoring and moderation process, FIFA has also shared relevant information with FIFA Member Associations and law enforcement authorities to ensure that there is no a place to hide in the real world for those who commit abuse in the virtual world.
FIFPRO President David Aganzo added: “Persistent online abuse affects footballers around the world and cannot be ignored. This toxic online environment is a place that poses risks to their mental health and well-being. The world of football has a responsibility to protect players in their professional context. »
“Therefore, FIFPRO and FIFA have increased their collaboration to put in place preventive measures during the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. However, we cannot do it alone. Football needs the involvement of all its stakeholders to create a safer and better environment for everyone. »
The social media moderation service is part of FIFA's No Discrimination campaign, run in association with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Astrid van Genderen Stort, Head of the External Relations and Partnerships Department at the United Nations High Commission, expressed her satisfaction on this subject: “We welcome FIFA’s approach to combating discrimination. The moderation service on social networks is a fantastic tool, which provides a response to the problem of online insults against players and referees. We invite all sports organizations to join the fight against all forms of online insults and look forward to continuing our collaboration with FIFA.”
* Data from more than 20 million messages containing player usernames (20 million for Qatar 2022 and 5,1 million for Australia & New Zealand 2023), the largest comparative study known to date for football masculine and feminine.
