The monitoring service created to protect players on social networks detected more than 100,000 messages of an insulting, discriminatory and threatening nature in the first phase of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, FIFA announced on Friday.
According to the body that manages world soccer, which created the service in collaboration with the International Union of Professional Soccer Players (FIFPro), more than 100,000 insulting and offensive comments were automatically and instantly hidden, and more than 6,000 posts were reported to the Business. who manage social networks.
“These data show that online offenses and assaults are an alarming problem for footballers and for society as a whole, with harmful consequences for mental health and well-being, which cannot be ignored,” FIFA says.
The message monitoring service, called SMPS, was made available to all the footballers of each of the 32 participating teams, with the aim of minimizing the visibility of terms that incite hate, to protect them and their followers.
In practice, the service makes it possible to detect harmful comments, report them to the respective platforms and authorities, as well as try to hide them from others, including victims.
FIFA joins today and Saturday the celebrations of International Human Rights Day, established by the United Nations Organization (UN), based on the message: “No type of discrimination has a place in football, nor in society.
In the quarterfinal matches of the World Cup, including Morocco-Portugal, scheduled for Saturday, the expression #NoDiscrimination, FIFA’s campaign against discrimination, will appear on the screens of the stadiums, which will also be inscribed on the armbands of the The captains
In a statement, FIFA recalls that in 2019 it introduced “a zero tolerance policy towards racism and discrimination” into its disciplinary code.
Source: TSF
