Manchester United trio, Marcus Rashford, Fred and Anthony Martial, Reese James of Chelsea and Raheem Sterling of Manchester City are some of the Premier League stars who have been exposed to racism online this season.
The Premier League, the English Football League and the Women’s Premier League, along with the English Football Association (FA), are planning to boycott all social media from 14 pm to Monday 22.59 pm.
It is important that we participate and say what we are thinking. It’s way too little for those things. Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tells TV2, NTB: We are in 2021 and the world is still like this so much that we have to discuss racism and discrimination more often.
UEFA and Italian Football Confederation will also close their accounts. UEFA President Alexander Ceferin said on Thursday that the hatred must be stopped through stricter legislation and regulations for major social media companies.
“I urge everyone – players, clubs and national associations – to report every time players, coaches, referees or others fall victim to unacceptable tweets or messages. We are tired of these cowards who hide behind their anonymity to express their harmful ideologies.” , He said in a statement.
It is impossible to get rid of it completely
Media strategist Brett Staxton tells TT that hate and harassment is an issue that is high on tech companies’ agendas as well and that the boycott gives them an opportunity to respond to their actions.
It’s also in their interest, that not every platform is developed into a pile of dung that nobody wants to be around and there are no advertisers, she says.
But removing hate from social media is not an easy task.
The creativity of those who want to spread hatred and threat is always faster than the slightly slow rules of moderation. “We will never have an internet completely free of hate and threats,” says Staxton.
She says it is important to see the problem in a wider context and work in the long term to overcome racism and hatred in society as a whole.
You say that the basic problem is not a problem on the Internet, but that it is structural racism that also occurs in the football world.
The PFA has called on players and their sponsors to comply with the boycott.
“Your common voice and influence have the power to influence and hold international companies accountable, and send a strong message to the global public: aggressive behavior is unacceptable,” the union said in a statement.
PFA also encourages sponsors and brands that work with gamers to do the same.
The biggest teams in England have large numbers of followers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Most of them have Manchester United, who has just over 40 million followers on Instagram and 73 million on Facebook.
Among the league stars, Mohamed Salah and Paul Pogba from Liverpool have the most followers, with more than 40 million followers on Instagram.
Facts: English football and pure hatred
Internet hate issue has been a hot issue for a long time.
About two years ago, several league stars participated in a campaign called “#Enough” – a 24-hour boycott of social media in the wake of similar racist attacks on players. Then as now, the same demands were made towards social media.
Several players in the major English leagues have stated that they have been subjected to racism and hate during the past season, and in February English football sent an open letter to Facebook and Twitter demanding a tighter grip on Internet users and criticizing the “negative” social media giants.
They demanded, among other things, nomination, swift action against offensive posts, improved verification, and the need for social media companies to assist the judiciary in identifying and prosecuting those who have posted illegal content.
The same requirements are now set.
Likewise, Prince William, president of the FIFA, wrote that the platforms should be held accountable.
He wrote on Twitter: “Racism – whether on the stadium, in the stands or on social media – is reprehensible and must stop now,” and continued:
“We all have a responsibility to create an environment in which such activity is not tolerated, and those who choose to spread hate must be held accountable for their actions. This responsibility extends to the platforms where such activity takes place.”
Politicians in the UK have also worked on a new law they plan to launch in 2021 in which tech companies will be legally responsible for the security of their user network – and accountable for inappropriate content to the Ofcom media authority. Publications of a racist nature, for example, should, according to the bill, be removed “without delay.” The proposal also includes the threat of fines of up to 10 percent of global sales if companies fail to fulfill their obligations. There may also be talk of criminal law action for senior executives.
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