Olympics: British athletes provided with AI protection from online abuse

LONDON, Dec 4 Leading athletes from the UK will soon gain a cutting-edge tool to shield themselves from online harassment following a 300,000 ($400,170) agreement by UK Sport to implement AI-powered safeguards on social media.

The government-backed organization, which supports both Olympic and Paralympic sports, has teamed up with Social Protect, an application that identifies and conceals abusive content in real time. Thousands of athletes will have free access to the service, keeping their social media accounts secure throughout the Olympic cycle leading up to Los Angeles 2028.

"The level of online abuse faced by our athletes is unacceptable. Ignoring it is not an option," said Kate Baker, UK Sport Director of Performance. This partnership marks a pioneering move in British sports.

Social Protect, already used by sports authorities in Australia, functions like antivirus software, scanning platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube for over two million offensive terms. Detected content is automatically hidden from comments or replies, and athletes can customize additional triggers.

"The goal is to maintain comment sections free from racism, hate, scams, and all the negative content found on social media," explained founder Shane Britten.

However, the system has limitations. It does not cover X (formerly Twitter), which a BBC investigation identified as the source of 82% of abuse targeting soccer managers and players. It also cannot block abusive direct messages, which remain visible unless athletes opt for separate, more expensive services that require sharing login credentials.

Online harassment has affected athletes since the rise of social media in the mid-2000s. Three-time Olympic badminton competitor Kirsty Gilmour, who has received death and sexual threats and once involved the FBI in a case, praised the initiative.

"It feels empowering, like a protective shield around my space online," the 32-year-old Scot told the BBC. "Threats like 'I know where you live' are frightening when you're far from home." Gilmour added that the app's ability to hide even minor insults could benefit athletes' mental health.

"If we can stop even one person from causing harm, it might prevent further abuse toward others."

Author: Ava Mitchell