Experts from across the sporting, political, and social worlds have this week joined forces and pledged their support to the groundbreaking United Against Online Abuse coalition.

Gathered at the FIA’s headquarters in Paris, panelists and attendees from key institutions and social platforms including FIFA, World Rugby, UNESCO, the African Union, Peace and Sport, and TikTok, worked together to shape the coalition’s mission and drive towards the goal of eradicating online hate.

Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, French Government Minister for Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games of France, sent a message of support to start the conference, stating: “Performance [in sport] cannot be at any price. The well-being of the athletes, their development, and their serenity as human beings… must be a priority. That is why my ministry has signed the United Against Online Abuse charter.”

The FIA Foundation is the main funder of the first phase of the campaign. The Foundation’s Chairman, David Richards (see main photo above), joined FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem to open the conference, and said: “One of the primary charitable objectives of the FIA Foundation is to promote and enable safe participation in motor sport, which makes this issue highly relevant for us. There’s no doubt that cyberbullying and hate speech makes participants in sport feel unsafe and threatened and action against this activity is long overdue.” 

Guests heard firsthand the experiences of top athletes, including Olympian and taekwondo champion Pascal Gentil, and rally driver Burcu Çetinkaya. Burcu, who alongside being a top rally driver is the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission Chair, shared her experiences as a survivor of online abuse and spoke bravely about the impact it had on her, and the journey she had made to return to rallying. 

Arwen.AI, a cutting-edge company using artificial intelligence to automatically detect and remove online hate from social platforms, presented eye-opening data regarding the extent of online abuse and the impact their tools are making. Their findings highlighted that 67% of social media users are less likely to engage with online content if they feel unsafe. Removing hate comments saw a 56% uplift in engagement on social posts.

This data follows the UAOA’s findings from the barometer survey launched earlier this year. The survey found that 75% of athletes have reported threats against their physical safety, whilst over 90% agreed that if online abuse is not addressed, it will drive them away from their sports.

Throughout the conference, education was highlighted as a key factor in the eradication of online abuse – not only in how to react and report if affected, but also in educating perpetrators to recognise the human impact of their hate.

Leading the way, UAOA launched the United Against Online Abuse Educational Module. A free, open access programme designed to upskill communities and help develop the understanding of online abuse in sport, the impact it has, and the challenges that are faced. The module explains the role of policy makers, international federations, and social platforms whilst sharing steps that can be taken to prevent and fight abuse.

FIA President and founder of the UAOA campaign, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, said: “This conference was an opportunity for leaders and experts to come together and collaborate on our united mission to combat online abuse. I thank all who have pledged their support for this coalition and urge the wider global community to come together and join us in this important fight.”

The UAOA campaign is a collaborative mission between national governments, regulatory institutions, and fellow sporting bodies, with the objective of building a global coalition to tackle online abuse within the sport ecosystem.

To date, the UAOA coalition has welcomed endorsement from the Governments of Albania, Australia, Belgium, Costa Rica, France, Greece, Malaysia, Slovenia, Spain, alongside federations including Peace and Sport , FIM, the International Esports Federation, and ASETEK SimSports. The first phase of the campaign has been funded by the FIA Foundation. 

For more information about the United Against Online Abuse campaign please visit www.unitedagainstonlineabuse.com