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- The International Olympic Committee implemented an extensive online abuse protection service during the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, monitoring 20,000 social media accounts and using AI to flag over 152,000 potentially abusive posts.
- Out of these, more than 10,200 were verified as abusive and subsequently reported for removal, aiming to protect the well-being of 353 directly targeted athletes and officials.
SALT LAKE CITY — More than 10,200 online posts and comments about athletes and officials participating in the 2024 Summer Games in Paris were deemed abusive through what the International Olympic Committee is calling "the largest and most comprehensive service of its kind in sports history."
What the Switzerland-based Olympic Committee billed as an "online abuse protection service" for the 10,400 athletes and officials at the Paris Games used artificial intelligence to sift through some 2.4 million posts and comments directed at their social media accounts on X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
A total of 20,000 social media accounts were monitored in real time and in more than 35 languages as part of the implementation for the Olympic AI Agenda. It was the largest online abuse prevention program ever conducted in sport, the committee said, and "an extremely effective way of enhancing athlete well-being during the Olympic Games."
According to the Olympic committee, that process flagged more than 152,000 posts and comments as "potentially abusive," often before they'd reached their target. Of those, more than 10,200 were verified as abusive and reported to the platforms on which they appeared for removal. Abusive messages were said to have been detected from 8,900 unique accounts.
Insights cited about the abuse include:
- A total of 353 athletes and officials were directly targeted.
- Gender-based abuse was the dominant type, with sexual and sexist violence specifically targeted at female athletes.
- Approximately 70% of all athletes targeted by online abuse were male.
The Olympic committee provided "on-the-ground safeguarding and mental health support" to the athletes and officials targeted online. The support included the first-ever "Mind Zone" in the Olympic Village housing for athletes, intended to help reduce stress using what was described as "an immersive virtual reality mindfulness experience."
There was also a network of "safeguarding officers" available, from 74 of the participating national Olympic committees, 41 international sports federations and the Olympic committee, as well as clinical help. A "Mentally Fit" helpline offered assistance 24/7 in 70 languages, the Olympic committee said.
Kristy Burrows, the Olympic committee's head of safe sport, said cyber abuse causes real harm.
"These figures demonstrate the scale of protection that was provided at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 — and the scale of online abuse that athletes and officials face," Burrows said. "The legacy of this initiative, which put athlete well-being front and center, will continue long after the Games."
A detailed report on the new initiative is expected by early next year and will be used to develop "data-driven strategies to protect athletes and officials from cyber abuse, which causes real harm," she said.
