FIFA Flags Seven Million Abusive World Cup Posts

FIFA’s Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) has detected more than 7 million potentially harmful and abusive posts targeting players, teams, and tournament staff during the World Cup, the global soccer governing body announced on Saturday.

This figure marks a massive spike from the 2022 tournament, representing a detection rate 14 times higher than the 470,000 abusive posts flagged four years ago.

The specialised protection service aims to shield athletes and coaches from online harassment.

The SMPS team has reviewed more than half a million artificial intelligence-detected messages that specifically targeted players, coaches, and referees during the competition.

As a result of these reviews, the safety team has reported more than 1,000 direct threats to law enforcement and other relevant authorities.

FIFA (News Central TV) — FIFA flags seven million abusive World Cup posts. Credit: Reuters

Earlier this month, FIFA disclosed that explicit racial abuse accounted for 11 per cent of the offensive messages flagged by the system.

In total, the service has moderated more than 53 million posts and comments since the start of the World Cup.

This aggressive content moderation campaign comes just before the tournament culminates on Sunday with the final match between Argentina and Spain.

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Abisoye Adeyiga

Abisoye Adedoyin Adeyiga holds a PhD in Languages and Media Studies and a Master’s in Education (English Language). Trained in digital marketing and investigative journalism, she is passionate about new media’s transformative power. She enjoys reading, traveling, and meaningful conversations.