“Damn idiot, I hope your wife dies in a car accident, they take your kids away for being alcoholics, and then when they come back they kill you.”. The text corresponds to a publication by an anonymous user addressed to some protagonist of the Rugby World Cup 2023 in which it was contested France. Such publications were filtered by a protection service whose aim was to eradicate hate messages, but also to identify those responsible and, in some cases, prosecute them.
The AI-based system identified, investigated and provided support related to abuse and threats received by referees, players, teams and officials during the tournament. Focusing on open social networks like X AND instagramin addition to private direct messaging, the system involved the use of text, images and emojis and operated in 35 languages and dialects.
Consequentially, A person in Australia is in court for cyber abuse and there are other cases pending in several countries and 1,600 accounts reported for non-compliance with community guidelines. In the case of extremely abusive accounts – with texts like the one at the beginning of this article – the reports have helped the platforms themselves eliminate the users.
“You are a disgrace to World Rugby. I hope you get fired and never play another game again. You’re an idiot who gets paid, you damn dog. I hope someone finds you and slits your throat.”is another of the real texts released by the World Cup organization to graphically represent the cases.
The body that organizes the World Cup every four years has collaborated with Meaning group and its artificial intelligence service Threat Matrix and open source forensic investigation techniques. The development was launched in 2020 to detect these types of hateful posts in real time and will be applied across women’s and men’s rugby competitions this year.
The system is used by clubs, leagues, players’ unions, federations and global sporting event organizers to protect athletes and other stakeholders, as well as for use in investigations and intelligence support.
“Those who abuse or threaten players, referees or their families must realize that their actions will have consequences. It’s great to see World Rugby lead the way and see the first charges brought against those individuals sending such atrocious messages. There is simply no place for this behavior in rugby, sport or society.”observed the referee of the final of the last World Cup, Wayne Barnes which was also one of the most targeted on social networks.
It happens that referees, including TMO match officials, have received more attacks or threats than players or selections. 49% of the abuse recorded during the World Cup was directed at them and Barnes received it a third of all abuse.
“Idiot, fucking loser. “I will hunt you down and make your life hell, damn you.”was another of the leaked texts that World Rugby released to illustrate the tenor of the expletives.
The geographical origin of the verified abusive accounts was Europe with 58% of cases, Africa 19% of cases; Oceania, 10; South America, 3% and of this percentage 2% corresponds to Argentina, with Los Pumas as the main target. The remaining 10% were recorded in regions without competitors in France 2023.
“The rise of online hate in society and sport is worrying and totally unacceptable; “We will continue to do everything we can to protect and support our international referees and their families by bringing abusers to justice,” said Alan Gilpin, CEO of World Rugby.
In the coming weeks the body will release a documentary documenting the impact of attacks on the privacy of people within the world of rugby.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.