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      Why is there a Premier League social media blackout, and who is taking part?

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      THIS weekend SunSport will join Premier League clubs in their social media blackout campaign.From 3pm on Friday, April 30 to 11.59pm on Monday, May 3, all of The Sun’s Twitter accounts will suspend activity.
      Premier League clubs will not be posting on their social media this weekendCredit: PA
      Why is there a Premier League social media blackout?
      Across the sporting world, accounts on social media will fall silent this weekend.
      The initiative is a show of solidarity against racism, with all 20 Premier League clubs involved.
      Billed as ‘weekend of action’, Twitter accounts which would usually be buzzing with activity across a bank-holiday period will instead be dormant.
      The move is a bid to ramp up pressure on social platforms to act against online hate and abuse after a spate of recent incidents.
      Thierry Henry last month told SunSport’s Troy Deeney why he quit social media.
      The Arsenal legend shut down his accounts to take a stand against online abuse.

      Twitter have responded to the campaign indirectly, posting a statement which condemned racist behaviour on their site.
      It read: “Racist behaviour, abuse and harassment have absolutely no place on our service and alongside our partners in football, we condemn racism in all its forms.
      “We are resolute in our commitment to ensure the football conversation on our service is safe for fans, players and everyone involved in the game.
      “Since the started on September 12th, there have been over 30m Tweets from people in the UK about football.
      The blackout is designed to put pressure on social media companiesCredit: PA
      “In that time we have removed over 7,000 Tweets in the UK that were targeting the football conversation with violations of the Twitter Rules.
      “This represents roughly 0.02% of the overall football conversation in the UK and does not reflect the vast majority of people who engage in vibrant discussions about football on Twitter. 
      “Racism is a deep societal and complex issue and everyone has a role to play. 
      “We are committed to dong our part and continue to work closely with valued partners in football, government and police, along with the working group convened by Kick It Out to identify ways to tackle this issue collectively – both online and away from social media.”

      Who else is taking part?
      Alongside SunSport, a number of other broadcasters including Sky Sports, BT Sport and Guardian Sport will all fall silent on Twitter from 3pm on Friday.
      Uefa will follow suit, as well as accounts for the FA, Premier League clubs, EFL, Women’s Super League, PFA, Kick It Out and the Football Supporters Association.
      English cricket and Premiership rugby have also announced they intend to support the boycott.
      Lewis Hamilton says he will be joining in the boycottCredit: EPA
      F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has called on companies to do more in eradicating online hate and will also join the three-day ban.
      He said: ” I think I’m going to be supporting [the boycott] this weekend also. There’s no reason not to.
      “You’ve seen what’s happening around the world, you’ve seen a lot of the talk that happened last year, but this year is a year of action.
      “The social media platforms haven’t done enough at the end. They have the capability of implementing change and making sure that there’s no grounds for that.” More

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      Every English football club to take part in social media boycott today in protest at online hate

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      EVERY English football club will join a social media boycott today in protest at online hate.The FA, Premier League, EFL and the women’s game will turn off Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for four days. 
      Thierry Henry has led the charge for big tech reforms over online abuseCredit: PA
      They are calling on social media firms to stem the “relentless” flow of abuse.
      In an act of unity, The Sun will stop posting on our Twitter accounts from 3pm today until 11.59pm on Monday.
      France’s Thierry Henry, who has led the charge for big tech reform, was “thrilled” by the show of strength.
      He said: “It is a powerful statement.”
      Writing in today’s Sun, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden warns social media giants to act or face the consequences.
      Under his Online Safety Bill, companies could be shut down if they fail to remove abuse. 
      He writes: “Under the legislation, if social media companies fail to keep their promises to users – if they don’t quickly remove racist abuse, for example – they will face severe sanctions.
      “For the very worst failures, they could have their sites blocked.
      “They could also face huge fines of up to ten percent of annual global turnover.
      “For a company like Facebook or YouTube, that could be billions.”
      The Arsenal legend said of the online boycott: ‘It is a powerful statement’Credit: AFP

      He continues: “English football coming off social media is a powerful statement.
      “Everything that tries to destroy the beauty and the happiness of our game — we should fight it.
      “This is my happiest moment. Football stands for something. Not only money.”
      Thierry Henry explains his decision to quit social media More

    • 175 Shares169 Views

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      Why is there a Premier League social media blackout and who is taking part?

      by

      THIS weekend SunSport will join Premier League clubs in their social media blackout campaign.From 3pm on Friday, April 30 to 11.59pm on Monday, May 3, all of The Sun’s Twitter accounts will suspend activity.
      Premier League clubs will not be posting on their social media this weekendCredit: PA
      Why is there a Premier League social media blackout?
      Across the sporting world, accounts on social media will fall silent this weekend.
      The initiative is a show of solidarity against racism, with all 20 Premier League clubs involved.
      Billed as ‘weekend of action’, Twitter accounts which would usually be buzzing with activity across a bank-holiday period will instead be dormant.
      The move is a bid to ramp up pressure on social platforms to act against online hate and abuse after a spate of recent incidents.
      Thierry Henry last month told SunSport’s Troy Deeney why he quit social media.
      The Arsenal legend shut down his accounts to take a stand against online abuse.

      Twitter have responded to the campaign indirectly, posting a statement which condemned racist behaviour on their site.
      It read: “Racist behaviour, abuse and harassment have absolutely no place on our service and alongside our partners in football, we condemn racism in all its forms.
      “We are resolute in our commitment to ensure the football conversation on our service is safe for fans, players and everyone involved in the game.
      “Since the started on September 12th, there have been over 30m Tweets from people in the UK about football.
      The blackout is designed to put pressure on social media companiesCredit: PA
      “In that time we have removed over 7,000 Tweets in the UK that were targeting the football conversation with violations of the Twitter Rules.
      “This represents roughly 0.02% of the overall football conversation in the UK and does not reflect the vast majority of people who engage in vibrant discussions about football on Twitter. 
      “Racism is a deep societal and complex issue and everyone has a role to play. 
      “We are committed to dong our part and continue to work closely with valued partners in football, government and police, along with the working group convened by Kick It Out to identify ways to tackle this issue collectively – both online and away from social media.”

      Who else is taking part?
      Alongside SunSport, a number of other broadcasters including Sky Sports, BT Sport and Guardian Sport will all fall silent on Twitter from 3pm on Friday.
      Uefa will follow suit, as well as accounts for the FA, Premier League clubs, EFL, Women’s Super League, PFA, Kick It Out and the Football Supporters Association.
      English cricket and Premiership rugby have also announced they intend to support the boycott.
      Lewis Hamilton says he will be joining in the boycottCredit: EPA
      F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has called on companies to do more in eradicating online hate and will also join the three-day ban.
      He said: ” I think I’m going to be supporting [the boycott] this weekend also. There’s no reason not to.
      “You’ve seen what’s happening around the world, you’ve seen a lot of the talk that happened last year, but this year is a year of action.
      “The social media platforms haven’t done enough at the end. They have the capability of implementing change and making sure that there’s no grounds for that.” More

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      Premier League social media blackout set to be agreed as clubs unite in powerful anti-racism message

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      PREMIER LEAGUE clubs are set to agree a social media boycott, according to reports.Top-flight teams want to send a message that racism will not be tolerated and will launch a war against online hate.
      Premier League clubs are considering boycotting social media between May 1 and May 3Credit: Getty
      According to Daily Mail, teams are planning to go silent on social media for 24 hours either side of their game on the ‘Weekend of Action’ between May 1-3.
      And the report adds that the Premier League will also boycott social media for the duration of the round of fixtures.
      Clubs have been asked to confirm their support for the plans by 2pm on Monday 19 April, the report states.
      The move is a bid to ramp up pressure on social platforms to act against online hate and abuse after a spate of recent incidents.
      It comes after Swansea ditched social media for a week in a self-imposed seven-day exile.
      Rangers also followed suit in Scotland with a boycott of their own.
      Thierry Henry last month told SunSport’s Troy Deeney why he quit social media.
      The Arsenal legend shut down his accounts to take a stand against online abuse.
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Clubs want to send a message that hate will not be toleratedCredit: Getty
      Henry explained: “Even if you have two million comments that are great, if you have one or two or three that aren’t, it has an impact on you.
      “I’m a man, I’m 43, but I’m still trying to figure out what kind of person I can be.
      “So just imagine when you are a kid and what it can do to your mental health.
      “The sheer pressure of not being on Instagram or Twitter or whatever is second to none for kids.
      “I’m always going to fight for my community and my sport. Being black and in football, I’ve seen too many people suffer.
      “But let’s not forget about the rest. That’s why I mentioned bullying and harassment and the impact it can have on you mentally.

      “People go to the extent of committing suicide. Not only black people are getting abuse on social media, not only football players.”
      The France legend added: “There is freedom of speech. But you can’t shout whatever you want in an airport, a cinema, a police station. This is my point: accountability.
      “Wilfried Zaha got abused and we find out after that the kid is 12 years old. How do you have an account? How can we not know who you are behind that account?”
      Thierry Henry explains his decision to quit social media More

    • 250 Shares169 Views

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      Premier League clubs set to join forces to boycott social media in stand against vile racists after spate of incidents

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      PREMIER LEAGUE clubs are considering joining forces to boycott social media.Top-flight teams want to send a message that racism will not be tolerated and a blanket boycott is one way to do so.
      Premier League clubs are considering joining forces to take a stand against online abuseCredit: Reuters
      According to Daily Mail, teams could unite to stay away from platforms such as Instagram and Twitter for an entire round of fixtures.
      The report adds that the idea of a Friday 5pm to Monday 9am social media hiatus has been discussed.
      And such a move would ramp up pressure on social platforms to act against online hate and abuse after a spate of recent incidents.
      One potential hurdle for such a blanket boycott is the commercial deals and agreements that clubs have to promote on their social channels.
      It comes after Swansea ditched social media for a week in a self-imposed seven-day exile.
      Rangers also followed suit in Scotland with a boycott of their own.
      Thierry Henry last month told SunSport’s Troy Deeney why he quit social media.
      The Arsenal legend shut down his accounts to take a stand against online abuse.
      Clubs are pondering a potential boycott social media for an entire round of fixturesCredit: Getty
      Henry explained: “Even if you have two million comments that are great, if you have one or two or three that aren’t, it has an impact on you.
      “I’m a man, I’m 43, but I’m still trying to figure out what kind of person I can be.
      “So just imagine when you are a kid and what it can do to your mental health.
      “The sheer pressure of not being on Instagram or Twitter or whatever is second to none for kids.
      “I’m always going to fight for my community and my sport. Being black and in football, I’ve seen too many people suffer.
      “But let’s not forget about the rest. That’s why I mentioned bullying and harassment and the impact it can have on you mentally.

      “People go to the extent of committing suicide. Not only black people are getting abuse on social media, not only football players.”
      The France legend added: “There is freedom of speech. But you can’t shout whatever you want in an airport, a cinema, a police station. This is my point: accountability.
      “Wilfried Zaha got abused and we find out after that the kid is 12 years old. How do you have an account? How can we not know who you are behind that account?”
      Valencia players walk off after Mouctar Diakhaby accuses Cadiz defender Juan Cala of racist abuse More

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      Karren Brady: Like other sufferers, I cannot believe social networks are unable to take measures to identify abusers

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      ABUSE from the crowd, chanted or shouted, is bad enough but on social media, it is worse. It rankles for longer.I have experience of both, and on the street, too, but in cold print even if it comes from some weirdo with nothing better to do, it also tends to stick.
      Karren Brady has galled on social media giants to do more to stop racismCredit: PR Handout – Free to use
      Mark Zuckerberg has attracted criticism for not doing enough to stop online abuseCredit: The Mega Agency
      For a black man, racial abuse does more. It stains.
      Like other sufferers, I cannot believe Facebook, Instagram, ­Twitter and other social networks are unable to take measures to identify culprits or delete their filth.
      Speak up Nick Clegg, a two-faced politician who graduated to many-faced vice-president of global affairs for Facebook.
      Neither Clegg nor his employer, Mark Zuckerberg, hold out much hope of netting obscenity before it is published.
      And if they act with urgency it will be because, Clegg points out: “Advertisers don’t want their brands and products displayed next to extreme or hateful content — a point that many made explicitly last summer during a high-profile boycott by a number of household-name brands.”
      So there we have it. Never mind the targets of racial abuse, vulnerable and very angry, it’s big advertisers like Disney that really matter.
      But let’s get back to the former Deputy Prime Minister mentioning a boycott last summer.
      It was run by StopHateForProfit for the whole of July and it was estimated it cost Facebook and Instagram, also owned by Zuckerberg, about £23million.
      This is a fiddling sum compared with damages of about £500m ordered by an Illinois court for ‘photo tagging’, a jazzed-up phrase for using facial recognition software.
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      Thierry Henry has called for social media to do more to stop racists

      Even so, such losses are no more than damage on a car bumper to Zuckerberg whose companies earned over £50bn in the last year.
      Hate speech is no more than a troublesome ailment to the social networks.
      But not to us, and I can only assume that lawyers in many countries are assessing whether damages could be won for victims.
      It could be a short-cut to these networks taking significant action.
      Black and ethnic minority footballers are easy targets and so far are victims without serious redress.
      Football is at the apex of victimisation because it is incomparably popular in this country.
      Everybody knows Manchester United and I’d guess a huge number know Marcus Rashford’s name.
      He has been racially abused and says: “I’m a black man and I live every day proud I am.”
      Thierry Henry takes a different tack. He no longer uses social media.
      Arsenal launched a campaign  StopOnlineAbuse to add to ‘Black Lives Matter’ and others aligned with kicking out racism.
      Hnery has quit Twitter until it become a ‘safer place’
      Yet I can’t help thinking they are diffusing the message and prompting insane rage in people of limited conscience.
      Henry’s reaction seems the most effective, for the time being. Companies who claim they are doing everything in their power to prevent racist abuse just aren’t.
      If Zuckerberg, Clegg and their peers spent as much time and money editing out foul abuse as they do in chasing more users, then the debasing of their output would soon be under control.
      Theorists say that improved equality education at school and beyond would eradicate abuse.
      Certainly it would help but we all know that murder and rape is wrong and yet human nature has a disturbed side and racial hatred should be added to the list.
      Social media action is vital but weeding out culprits, big fines and jail must have a part to play.
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
      Thierry Henry breaks silence after quitting Twitter as he tells Good Morning Britain ‘I will be back on it when it’s safer’ More

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      Man Utd star Anthony Martial subjected to vile racist abuse after West Brom draw.. the latest incident in worrying trend

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      ANTHONY MARTIAL has once again been targeted by racist trolls following Manchester United’s draw with West Brom.
      The France striker – along with club team-mate Axel Tuanzebe – were both on the receiving end of horrific abuse following the loss at the hands of Sheffield Utd on January 27.

      Anthony Martial has been targeted by vile racists following Man Utd’s 1-1 draw with West BromCredit: AFP

      And Martial was subjected to yet more disgraceful taunts on social media after the West Brom game, despite social media vowing to clamp down on racists.
      Martial, 25, started the game at The Hawthorns, but was replaced by Mason Greenwood after 66 minutes of the 1-1 stalemate.
      Immediately after the match, the United star was subjected to racist abuse on Instagram just days after their vow to crack down on vile trolls.
      Sick racists posted horrifying messages to various posts on his Instagram page, including the use of abusive emojis and the N-word.

      It is just the latest incident in a string of worrying racist attacks aimed at players.
      Tuanzebe and Martial were abused after the loss against Sheff Utd.
      Team-mate Marcus Rashford was targeted after the 0-0 draw with Arsenal.
      Southampton teenager Alex Jankewitz was also among the many footballers to be attacked in recent weeks.

      Martial and team-mate Axel Tuanzebe were trolled by sick racists following last month’s loss to Sheff UtdCredit: PA:Press Association

      Chelsea pair Reece James and Antonio Rudiger were both sent racist abuse, as well as James’ sister and Red Devils star Lauren.
      West Brom’s Romaine Sawyers was also on the receiving end of some abhorrent abuse last month – with a man arrested.
      Swansea and Manchester City said they were ‘appalled’ and ‘saddened’ as police opened an investigation into racist abuse sent to Yan Dhanda earlier this week.
      Instagram admitted their systems have struggled to block many of the abusive posts because they do not routinely screen direct messages as they are supposed to be private.
      But the company – owned by Facebook – have vowed to act more quickly in banning those behind the racist messages.
      They have also promised to work with police as much as possible to prosecute the abusers.
      Instagram has vowed to make it easier for users to use settings to block terms or emojis from reaching them.
      They also say it is working on a new feature – planned for roll-out later this year – which will improve the ability to stop abusive DMs reaching them.

      Solskjer reacts to Man Utd’s dismal draw with West Brom More

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      Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter chief Jack Dorsey called out by football chiefs to end abuse on social media

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      ENGLISH football has united to demand social media giants stop talking and start acting to root out online abuse.
      In a direct and no punches pulled message to Twitter chief Jack Dorsey and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, representatives of all areas of the game came together in an open letter to tell the companies that ‘basic human decency’ required intervention.

      Football chiefs have penned a joint letter to social media giants including Facebook’s Mark ZuckerbergCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      Twitter boss Jack Dorsey is the other recipient of the letterCredit: Reuters

      Recent weeks have seen players including Anthony Martial, Axel Tuanzebe, Reece James, Romaine Sawyers and Lauren James subjected to vile racist abuse.
      And referee Mike Dean will not work this weekend following online death threats posted to his family.
      The damning letter was signed by FA chief Mark Bullingham, Prem boss Richard Masters, Gordon Taylor, EFL chief exec Trevor Birch, womens’ game leader Kelly Simmons, the LMA’s Richard Bevan, Mike Riley and Sanjay Bhandari of Kick It Out.
      It said: “The language used is debasing, often threatening and illegal.

      “It causes distress to the recipients and the vast majority of people who abhor racism, sexism and discrimination of any kind.
      “We have had many meetings with your executives over the years but the reality is your platforms remain havens for abuse.
      “Your inaction has created the belief in the minds of the anonymous perpetrators that they are beyond reach.”
      Players are understood to be considering a boycott of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as a sign of their growing anger and indignation.

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      And Edleen John, the FA director in charge of equality, diversity and inclusion, explained: “The companies must be able to create an algorithm which filters and blocks this abuse.
      “There must also be a swift takedown of anything they see that could be abusive or deemed abusive.
      “Users need to be verified. We have keyboard warriors sitting at home, typing whatever they want, and nobody is able to trace them or where they are.
      “I don’t believe these social media companies are unable to do that. If there is anybody who can find that information, it’s going to be a massive tech company.
      “We’ve been talking for 18 months. It seems there isn’t that impetus or momentum in the social media companies to address this.
      “It shouldn’t take 18 months to build an algorithm for them to be able to stop some of the stuff that’s happening.”
      ‘THEY’RE NOT READY TO MAKE THAT CHANGE’
      Twitter and Facebook both responded by insisting they were taking the issue seriously, in the wake of Government threats to levy fines of 10 per cent of their global earnings if the abuse continued.
      A Twitter spokesperson said: “There is no room for racist abuse on Twitter and we are resolute in our commitment to ensure the football conversation on our service is safe for fans, players and everyone involved in the game.
      “We strongly condemn this behaviour and will continue to take swift action on the minority that try to undermine the conversation for the majority.”
      Facebook added: “We don’t want hate and racism on our platforms and remove it when we find it.”
      But John added: “The discussions are always around ‘well, you know, we can’t look at things like emojis, because you have to think of context’.
      “If you are talking about a black person receiving a banana or a monkey, I’m not sure any further context or explanation is needed.
      “And if you can build a robot to vacuum your house you must be able to create an AI mechanism that can see words, emojis and pictures and filter them.
      “The only conclusion you can draw is they’re not ready to make that change and they don’t want to because they are more interested in driving people to the platforms.”
      ⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds

      Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shows his class as Man Utd boss sends fan struggling with mental health touching supportive letter More