Coe Calls Olympics Social Media Survey Results 'disturbing'
Zeeshan Mehtab Published November 25, 2021 | 11:48 PM
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe described as "disturbing" the results of a study conducted during the Tokyo Olympics to identify and address targeted, abusive messages sent to athletes via social media
Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Nov, 2021 ) :World Athletics president Sebastian Coe described as "disturbing" the results of a study conducted during the Tokyo Olympics to identify and address targeted, abusive messages sent to athletes via social media.
The survey to gain an understanding of the level of online abuse in athletics drew its findings from a sample of 161 Twitter handles of current and former athletes involved in the Games (derived from a list of 200 athletes selected by World Athletics).
They were tracked during the study period, starting one week prior to the Olympic opening ceremony and concluding the day after the Olympic closing ceremony (July 15 - August 9).
The survey found 23 of the athletes received targeted abuse with 16 of those women -- 115 of the 132 identified abusive posts were directed at female athletes.
Female athletes received 87% of all abuse.
Two athletes -- both black and female -- received 63% of identified abuse.
Unfounded doping accusations made up 25% of abusive messages, while 10% consisted of transphobic (9%) and homophobic (1%) posts.
89% of racist abuse was targeted at US athletes, despite them representing only 23% of the study set.
The two most common categories of abuse were of a sexist (29%) and/or racist (26%) nature, accounting for 55% of all identified abuse.
"This research is disturbing in so many ways," said Coe in a statement.
"What strikes me the most is that the abuse is targeted at individuals who are celebrating and sharing their performances and talent as a way to inspire and motivate people.
"To face the kinds of abuse they have is unfathomable and we all need to do more to stop this.
"Shining a light on the issue is just the first step." In the study timeframe, 240,707 tweets including 23,521 images, GIFs and videos were captured for analysis.
This included text analysis through searches for slurs, offensive images and emojis and other phrases that could indicate abuse.
It also used AI-powered Natural Language Processing to detect threats by understanding the relationship between words (allowing it to determine the difference between "I'll kill you" and "you killed it", for example).
Recent Stories
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 25 April 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 25 April 2024
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
Session Awarding Ceremony 2024 held at Cadet College Muzaffarabad
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
FM Dar conveys deepest sympathy on torrential rains devastation in UAE
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
Osaka seals first win on clay since 2022 in Madrid
Earthquake jolts Karachi
More Stories From Sports
-
Paris holds its breath for Olympic swimming events in murky Seine
54 minutes ago -
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
11 hours ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
11 hours ago -
Osaka seals first win on clay since 2022 in Madrid
11 hours ago -
Watford hire Cleverley as permanent boss
11 hours ago -
Karachi, Lahore, Multan win matches of National Women’s Cricket Tournament
12 hours ago
-
No communication gap among players, asserts Babar Azam
12 hours ago -
Bracewell looks ahead to Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan
12 hours ago -
Bolt named ICC Men’s T20 WC 2024 ambassador
13 hours ago -
Kewell's Yokohama beat Ulsan to reach Asian Champions League final
14 hours ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results
14 hours ago -
Advisor Sports hands over Rs500,000 to prominent Martial Art Athlete Irfan Mehsud
14 hours ago