World Athletics offers support to 25 athletes after social media abuse study
World Athletics has used artificial intelligence to provide year-round protection for 25 athletes on some of its social media platforms after they were identified as highly targeted individuals who suffered abuse during major events.
The governing body conducted a study over the past four years, including two Olympic Games and two world championships, to analyze online abuse against athletes.
More than 1.4 million posts or comments were analyzed, covering 2,438 track, field and road athletes.
The study included comments and targeted abuse (where athletes were tagged), but excluded direct messages or non-targeted abuse.
World Athletics has not finalized the names of the 25 athletes and said it will expand support next year.
World Athletics Chairman Lord Coe said: “We invest significant resources into researching online abuse and one of the big successes of this initiative is that we are able to support athletes and give them the tools to proactively protect themselves against online abuse. .”
“Athlete welfare is our top priority and we will continue to take steps to ensure athletes can engage confidently and safely on social media platforms.”
