"Hate speech" on the internet Athletes call for more civil courage - with AI against hate

Competitive sport and social media are also inextricably linked at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Now AI is to help combat hate comments.

AI, legal action and a clear stance: at the Summer Games in Paris 2024, Olympic athletes are to be protected against hate speech on the internet. Due to the feared increase in racism, hate postings, threats and religious hostility online, German sport has further intensified the fight against hate speech.

There is close cooperation with the law enforcement authorities and relevant incidents are to be reported "consistently". During the European Football Championship in Germany, more than 1,000 hate comments against the DFB team were reported. Of these, more than 800 criminally relevant hate comments were identified.

AI filters should help

At the Olympic Games and Paralympics, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) is also relying on AI to protect the athletes. Up to 25 filters are to be used on social media channels to filter out hate before it is published. Serious violations are to be reported to the authorities so that charges can be filed.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also breaking new ground. An online monitoring system will support 15,000 athletes and more than 2,000 officials at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"Sport and social media are inextricably linked. At Paris 2024, we expect around half a billion social media posts," said Kirsty Burrows, Head of the Safe Sport Unit at the IOC. The AI-supported system will monitor thousands of accounts on all major social media platforms and in over 35 languages in real time.

Call from Olympic champion Mihambo

Despite all the technical help and legal consequences for offenders, a clear stance is also required in society. Olympic long jump champion Malaika Mihambo appeals for more civil courage in the fight against racism. It is important to "address things clearly: We have a problem with racism in Germany. This is not new, but more people are now expressing their racist thoughts. This must be a wake-up call for all of us that something is going wrong here," the athletics star told the German Press Agency.

"Everyone takes part in racism in one role or another: as a victim, perpetrator or spectator. As a society, however, we need to ensure that there are no bystanders and that everyone, whether victim or not, actively shows perpetrators their limits," said the 30-year-old. "We definitely need to show more civil courage again. It's about values that need to be brought to life."

Schröder and the "internet eggs"

Basketball star Dennis Schröder welcomes the associations' approach. He himself would like to organize events against racism in the coming years. "I think we athletes can do a lot more to really bring about change," the 30-year-old told the Braunschweiger Zeitung newspaper.

Schröder also promoted himself as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony this Friday for political reasons. He spoke of "a statement for the German-Africans" and "a sign against racism".

The self-confident national team captain let the ugly comments against him - at least that's how it seems - bounce off him. "These internet eggs, as I call them, because they only feel strong in the anonymity of the internet, they should do what they want," said Schröder. Other athletes, however, are perhaps "not as mentally strong, they suffer from it".

100-meter record sprinter welcomes collaboration

This makes support from the federations all the more important. After Owen Ansah became the first German sprinter to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters at the end of June, he too was subjected to racist comments. As a consequence, the German Athletics Association is cooperating with the Central Office for Combating Cybercrime at the Public Prosecutor General's Office.

"I'm glad that the DLV has entered into a cooperation with the public prosecutor's office, which will clarify everything and I as an athlete don't have to deal with it too much," Ansah said in the ZDF sports studio.

"The cooperation is an important step in taking action against "haters" on the internet," said DLV CEO Idriss Gonschinska. "In addition, we have recommended the DOSB protection program against hate speech to all DLV athletes nominated for the Olympic Games."

Olympic Games under special protection

Other associations have also made recommendations. "We will protect our athletes, not only, but especially during major sporting events, where they are particularly in the spotlight," said DOSB President Thomas Weikert.

Mihambo hopes that the increased public presence will help in the fight against racism. "It's important that we talk about racism. It hasn't been done for years, but now the issue has the visibility that such an important topic needs. And we are feeling the consequences of the long silence," said Mihambo.