World Athletics Tackles Online Abuse with AI for 25 Top Athletes

World Athletics has introduced year-round protection for 25 athletes against online abuse, utilizing artificial intelligence to monitor their social media platforms. This initiative follows a four-year study that analyzed over 1.4 million posts and comments targeting athletes during major events including two Olympic Games and two World Championships. The study examined comments and abuse directed at 2,438 track, field and road athletes, focusing on tagged posts but excluding direct messages or non-targeted abuse.

World Athletics identified 25 athletes as highly targeted and has offered them tools and support to protect themselves online. The organization plans to expand this support next year, though it has not disclosed the names of the athletes involved. World Athletics president Lord Coe has emphasized the importance of athlete welfare, stating that the organization has invested significant resources into addressing online abuse.

This research has enabled them to identify abusive behavior and equip athletes with resources to counteract online harassment. The study revealed concerning trends, such as the increasing “weaponization of emojis” to bypass platform guidelines. Key findings include:

• At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, 63% of abuse targeted two female athletes with 29% being sexist and 26% racist.
• At the Oregon 2022 World Championships, 59% of abuse was directed at female athletes with 36% being sexual or sexist and 19% racist.
• During the Budapest 2023 World Championships, athletes saw a 12x increase in racist abuse compared to the previous year.
• At the Paris 2024 Olympics, two athletes accounted for 82% of the total abuse which included racist, sexist and sexual content.

Furthermore, World Athletics continues to develop educational materials to help athletes protect themselves and is actively exploring additional protections for the future.