World Athletics Implements Online Abuse Protection for 25 Athletes

World Athletics has initiated year-round protection for 25 athletes on select social media platforms, utilizing artificial intelligence. This action follows their identification as individuals highly targeted for online abuse during significant competitions. The global governing body conducted a four-year study, encompassing two Olympic Games and two World Championships, to analyze the extent of online abuse directed at its athletes. This research, which included the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, examined over 1.4 million posts or comments involving 2,438 track, field, and road athletes. The analysis specifically covered comments and targeted abuse, where athletes were tagged, but excluded direct messaging or non-targeted abuse. World Athletics has chosen not to disclose the identities of the 25 athletes and announced plans to broaden this support in the coming year. Lord Coe, president of World Athletics, stated, “We have invested significant resources into conducting research into online abuse and one of our significant successes from this initiative has been our ability to offer athletes support and providing them with the tools to proactively protect themselves against online abuse.” He further emphasized, “Athlete welfare is at the very top of our priority list, and we will continue to put measures in place to ensure that athletes can confidently and safely engage with social media platforms.” The study’s findings revealed that 1.4 million posts or comments were analyzed. Out of these, 1,258 posts and comments were reported to the respective platforms. Furthermore, 254 accounts confirmed to have sent abusive or threatening content were escalated to the relevant platforms. Two serious cases were brought to the attention of authorities after the accounts were identified and evidence collected. Specific event analyses provided detailed insights: – At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, 63% of the abuse targeted two athletes, both female, with 29% of the abuse being sexist and 26% racist. – During the Oregon 2022 World Championships, 59% of the abuse was directed at female athletes, with 36% categorized as sexual or sexist and 19% as racist. – The Budapest 2023 World Championships saw 35% of abuse as racist, representing a 12x increase from 2022, with X accounting for over 90% of detected abuse. – For the Paris 2024 Olympics, two athletes were the subject of 82% of all abuse, with 18% of all verified abuse being racist, 13% sexual in nature, and 17% sexist. The study concluded that the use of emojis in online abuse has seen a substantial increase. It noted: “The data indicates that the ‘weaponisation of emojis’ has continued to increase, as emojis are often used to circumvent platform guidelines, being deployed with not immediately obvious abusive context.” The research also observed that fewer athletes post during competition periods, leading to their accounts appearing static, and those who do post frequently celebrate achievements, with many employing some form of comment management. In its examination of the 2023 World Championships held in Budapest, the study determined that abuse, unlike in prior events, was driven by “events outside the stadium and based on athletes’ wider reputation.” Notably, three of the top five athletes who experienced abuse at those championships were also among the top five most targeted athletes at the Paris Olympics this summer. World Athletics has developed educational materials for distribution to athletes, offering guidance on how to better protect themselves and their online accounts. Additional resources are currently under development, and World Athletics stated its commitment to continue “exploring the depth and type of future protection for athletes.” It also indicated that “a consultation with athletes to ensure the most effective deployment of services” would take place.