FIFA detects over 7 million abusive posts during World Cup

FIFA’s Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) has detected more than 7 million potentially harmful or abusive posts targeting players, teams and officials during the ongoing World Cup, the global football body said on Saturday.

According to FIFA, the detection rate is 14 times higher than the 2022 edition, when around 470,000 abusive posts were removed.

The SMPS team has reviewed more than 500,000 AI-flagged messages aimed at players, coaches and officials, and reported over 1,000 threats to authorities, including law enforcement agencies.

Since the start of the tournament, the service has moderated more than 53 million posts and comments across social media platforms. The World Cup will conclude on Sunday with the final between Argentina and Spain.

Earlier this month, FIFA revealed that racial abuse accounted for 11 per cent of all detected offensive messages during the tournament.