VOA科学技术2023--AI Tools Block Online Abuse Directed at Soccer Stars

AI Tools Block Online Abuse Directed at Soccer Stars

Some companies have created artificial intelligence (AI) tools to block abusive comments directed at professional soccer players.

The tools are aimed at limiting abusive messages about race and other issues targeting soccer players on social media.

A British organization that campaigns against discrimination in soccer, called Kick It Out, said racism¹ is the most common form of abuse reported on social media. The group's finding is based on data collected over the past three seasons in English soccer.

Soccer's governing body, FIFA, released a report on the problem last year. The report said more than half of players taking part in two major competitions in 2021 received some form of abuse on social media. The competitions were the African Cup of Nations and the European Championship.

FIFA found that more than one third of 400,000 social media posts about soccer players were described as racial abuse.

Black French soccer star Kylian Mbappe has 104 million followers² on Instagram and more than 12 million followers on Twitter. He was the subject of racial abuse along with Black teammate Kingsley Coman after their French national team lost in the 2022 World Cup final to Argentina.

Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior, who is also Black, has been the target of racial insults. But he is still active on social media with 38 million followers on Instagram and nearly 7 million on Twitter.

Another Black player who has been targeted online is Bukayo Saka, who plays for Premier³ League team Arsenal⁴ as well as Britain's national team. Saka has more than 1 million followers on Twitter. He remains⁵ on social media even after receiving abuse over England's loss in the Euro 2020 competition.

A few weeks ago, a message targeting Saka was posted on Twitter. The message showed Saka with his face made to look like a monkey, along with the words: "This clown has cost us the league." Minutes before the message was posted, Saka had missed a penalty in an important Premier League game.

Players and teams say they want to remove insults and racial abuse from social media. British technology company GoBubble aims to block comments considered discriminatory.

The company's founder⁶, Henry Platten told The Associated Press the current problems were made possible by technology. But he added, "Tech can actually solve the issue, and this is what we are seeing as one of those pieces of the jigsaw⁷."

GoBubble's AI technology tool is linked to players' social media accounts. The tool searches for harmful words, images, and abusive messages, which it can block.

Official bodies are reacting to the problem as well. During last year's World Cup in Qatar, FIFA and players' organization FIFPRO used a special moderation service to block racist⁸ and abusive posts from being seen online by players and their followers. The same service will be offered for the upcoming Women's World Cup.

In 2021, soccer officials in England led a four-day social media boycott⁹ against Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The move aimed to protest the companies' moderation and enforcement efforts against online abuse.

Activists¹⁰ accuse Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, and Twitter of being too slow to block racist comments, remove violators' accounts, and change verification methods. Verification can make it more difficult for banned users to sign up for new accounts.

Mark Bright is a former Black player in Britain's Premier League who remembers suffering racial abuse at stadiums during the 1980s. He told the AP he thinks social media companies need to be regulated by the government. He believes the companies should be punished for any harm caused by their services.

"Everyone's been complaining about this for a long time now," Bright said. He added, "Some players have set up meetings with these social media companies. It seems to me that they're not serious enough about it."

Words in This Story

penalty – n. an advantage given to a team when the opposing team has broken a rule

jigsaw – n. a picture in many small pieces that you put together as a game

moderate – v. to make sure the rules of an internet discussion are not broken

verify – v. prove that something is true

regulate – v. to control an activity or process, especially by rules

complain – v. express unhappiness or opposition about something

1 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

2 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

3 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

4 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 jigsaw   

n.缕花锯，竖锯，拼图游戏；vt.用竖锯锯，使互相交错搭接

参考例句：

• A jigsaw puzzle can keep me absorbed for hours.一副拼图就能让我沉醉几个小时。
• Tom likes to work on jigsaw puzzles,too.汤姆也喜欢玩拼图游戏。

8 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

9 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》