The 2022 World Cup in Qatar was a magnificent event, but unfortunately, it was also marred by social media abuse directed towards players and officials. To address this issue, FIFA and FIFPRO, the players’ global union, collaborated on a groundbreaking project to monitor social media abuse during the tournament. The project utilized artificial intelligence (AI) to scan 20 million posts and comments on social media platforms.
The results of the project were shocking. Out of the 20 million posts and comments scanned, over 19,000 were abusive, with the severity of the abuse increasing as the tournament progressed. The moderator software intercepted over 286,000 abusive comments before they could be seen, and more than 13,000 abusive posts were reported to Twitter. The identities of over 300 people who posted abusive content were shared with member associations and jurisdictional law authorities.
The project’s main objective was to protect players and officials and facilitate real-world action against offenders. David Aganzo, president of FIFPRO, expressed concern over the figures and findings in the report. FIFA and FIFPRO are committed to fighting all forms of discrimination and calling it a criminal act. The project’s success in identifying and reporting social media abuse is expected to reduce the number of abusive posts and comments in the future.
The France-England quarterfinals saw the most significant increase in abuse, with accounts based in Europe being responsible for 38% of the identifiable abuse, and 36% coming from South America. FIFA and FIFPRO expect social media platforms to accept responsibility and support the fight against discrimination.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated, “With the help of this tool, we are identifying the perpetrators and reporting them to the authorities so that they are punished for their actions.” The use of AI to track social media abuse during the 2022 World Cup is an essential step in the fight against discrimination in sport.
The success of this project is expected to set an example for other sporting events and organizations to follow in the future. FIFA and FIFPRO are committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all players and officials involved in the sport. By working together to combat discrimination, we can ensure that everyone can enjoy the beautiful game without fear of abuse or discrimination.
The project will also be used at the Women’s World Cup next month in Australia and New Zealand. The hope is that this project will pave the way for future projects that will continue to tackle the issue of social media abuse in sports.
In conclusion, the use of AI to track social media abuse during the 2022 World Cup was a groundbreaking project that successfully identified and reported social media abuse towards players and officials. FIFA and FIFPRO are committed to fighting all forms of discrimination and creating a safe and inclusive environment for all involved in the sport. This project sets an example for other sporting events and organizations to follow in the future, and we hope to see more projects that will tackle the issue of social media abuse in sports.
