As World Mental Health Month wraps up, World Athletics is highlighting a distressing trend revealed during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: a surge of online abuse directed at athletes. A newly published study, conducted in collaboration with the AI-driven Threat Matrix by Signify Group, analyzed 355,873 posts and comments in 36 languages, flagging 34,040 as containing racist, sexualized or abusive content. This marks the fourth study by World Athletics on this serious issue in as many years, underscoring the urgent need for action against the digital harassment athletes endure.
During the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, an extensive sample of 1,917 athletes’ accounts on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook and TikTok was monitored. Alarmingly, nearly half (48 per cent) of the verified abusive posts fell into categories of severe racism and sexualization.
A worrying trend in online abuse
The study flagged a shocking total of 809 posts as abusive, with a significant portion of these posts focusing on racism (18 per cent) and sexualized harassment (30 per cent), the two primary categories of abuse affecting athletes. Female athletes faced particularly high rates of sexualized and sexist abuse, while male athletes were more often targeted with racist messages.
Although athletes from 20 nations faced some level of harassment, American athletes, representing just 7.8 per cent of the sample, endured almost half (49 per cent) of all abusive messages. These trends highlight that the problem is not only widespread but also targeted and intense, affecting certain athletes disproportionately.
The cost of a social media presence
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe emphasized that social media can be both a bridge and a barrier for athletes. “Having a social media presence is important for many athletes as it helps them connect with fans and fulfill sponsorship obligations,” Coe said. He noted that while these platforms allow athletes to build and grow the sport of athletics, the experience can be tarnished by harmful comments and harassment. For some, the mental toll can be significant, with abuse impacting both well-being and performance.
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Paving the way for safer platforms
As World Athletics works to raise awareness around online abuse, they’re not stopping at observation. This study is part of a larger initiative aimed at creating safer online spaces for athletes, and World Athletics continues to advocate for better safeguarding policies in partnership with social media platforms.
For athletes, the stakes of maintaining an online presence are higher than ever, making the call for change urgent and necessary. By shedding light on these issues, World Athletics hopes to drive a positive shift in how platforms handle abusive content, ultimately creating a safer digital environment for athletes worldwide.
