GENERAL
Female athletes at the Paris Olympics were often targeted with a mixture of sexual and sexist online abuse
This Abuse Must Stop !
In its fourth major study into online abuse , World Athletics recently published more startling findings on the abuse that athletes suffered during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games . – BY WORLD ATHLETICS
As World Mental Health Month ( October ) drew to a close , World Athletics published its findings from a study conducted during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games , aimed at protecting athletes from abusive messages sent via social media platforms . Just over 1900 athletes with at least one active social media account were monitored for online abuse during the Games , across four social media platforms ( X , Instagram , Facebook and TikTok ), which is 12 times the size sampled during the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 , and the key findings from this study show that :
• Racism and sexualised abuse continue to be used to target athletes , making up 48 % of the results .
• 809 total posts were verified as abusive , with 128 posts and comments ( 16 %) escalated to the relevant platform for further action .
This study is the fourth of its kind published by World Athletics in the past four years , covering the 2020 Tokyo Olympics , the 2022 and 2023 World Athletics Championships in Oregon and Budapest respectively , and now the 2024 Paris Olympics . The research was conducted in collaboration with Signify Group , using its Threat Matrix service powered by artificial intelligence , to investigate online harassment of athletes .
Analysing the Abuse
The study monitored the social media accounts of 1917 athletes , reserves and officials for the entirety of the Paris Olympics ( 24 July to 11 August ), while also including the 24 hours before and after the Games ’ start and end dates . A total of 355,873 posts and comments across 36 different languages and dialects were analysed for abusive content , with 34,040 posts being flagged by the Threat Matrix AI algorithm for review by human analysis . Racism ( 18 %) and sexualised abuse ( 30 %) continue to be the biggest issues , making up 48 % of the total detected abuse , while general abuse – content flagged as abusive in nature but does not contain discriminatory language relating to a specific category – makes up 32 % of the total detected abuse .
Two athletes were particularly heavily targeted , accounting for 82 % of all detected abuse between them . Overall , verifiable abuse was directed at athletes representing 20 different nations , with 49 % of abuse directed at US athletes , despite them only representing 7.8 % of the athletes in the study set . Racism was the largest category of detected abuse targeting male athletes , making up 26 % of total abuse directed at male athletes , while female athletes were targeted with a mixture of sexual and sexist abuse , and almost half of the detected content falling under the general abuse category ( 49 %).
“ It is no secret that social media abuse towards athletes can have a devastating impact on their mental health as well as their performance ,” says World Athletics President Sebastian Coe . “ Having a social media presence is important for many athletes , because it enables them to connect with their fans , as well as deliver on endorsement commitments . Also , many athletes are committed to growing the sport of athletics through their online presence , but they need to be able to do so in a safe environment .”
“ We are proud of many of our athletes who use their platform to raise awareness on important issues , including speaking out about online abuse and its impact on mental health . Meanwhile , we will continue our work in this space , and use our research to help drive positive change , both with platforms and in developing resources for athletes around their mental health ,” he adds .
Preventative Measures
In total , 128 abusive posts and comments were reported to the relevant platforms on behalf of athletes , while two cases were escalated to higher authorities , further demonstrating the importance of the work that World Athletics and Signify Group are doing in this space to protect athletes from online abuse , on top of the support that some platforms are offering in this space . Previous research already guided World Athletics initiatives applied during these Paris Olympics , including materials highlighting safety tools offered by channels like Instagram and Facebook . In certain cases , additional preventative measures using AI software were offered to ‘ at-risk-athletes .’
While this report focuses on the findings from the Paris Olympic Games , the fouryear report covering the last four major global athletics events , due to be released later this year , will focus on developments over the course of the past four years . It will also outline measures that World Athletics will be taking in the future , including the valuable insights this research will provide to experts in the field of athlete welfare and mental health , to help develop more robust support systems with regards to online abuse .
Editor ’ s Note
A simple but really effective ‘ golden rule ’ is for all users of social media platforms to ask themselves this question : Would I say this to that person ’ s face if they were standing in front of me ? If the answer is no , then don ’ t post it online . That would go a long way to cutting out much of the abuse that fills these platforms today !
Image : Mattia Ozbot / World Athletics
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