Arsenal have launched a new initiative to address online abuse and have called on supporters to play their part in identifying, condemning and highlighting such posts when they are shared on social media.
Having seen a worrying increase in violent threats, sexual discrimination and racial abuse directed at players, staff and their respective families, the club has made it clear that they will lobby the “relevant authorities” and social media companies to punish those who are responsible.
In addition, they promise to work even closer with other clubs, the Premier League and partners such as Kick It Out, The FA, PFA and the police to provide better support to victims.
All of us at Arsenal – players, staff and fans – stand together to address the flow of abusive posts and messages on social media platforms
We call on everyone to join forces and identify, condemn and highlight abuse when they see it pic.twitter.com/3WEZLt7uCt
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 30, 2021
On its social media platforms, the club said: “This is about changing attitudes and making a difference every day.”
Arsenal went on to outline a set of four demands:
1. Racist/discriminatory messages/posts should be filtered/blocked before they are received.
2. Operate robust/transparent/swift measures to take down abusive material if it does get into circulation.
3. Users subject to verification that allows for accurate ID of person behind the account. Steps taken to stop a user that has sent abuse from re-registering.
4. Our platforms should actively assist investigating authorities in identifying the originators of discriminatory posts.
In recent months, CEO Vinai Venkatesham and manager Mikel Arteta have both spoken publicly about the need for proactive change after Eddie Nketiah, Granit Xhaka and Hector Bellerin (amongst others) were targeted by online trolls.
“The abuse of so many of our black footballers on social channels is probably and possibly the biggest problem we have in the game at the moment,” said Venkatesham in February.
“Footballers, referees and officials are all human beings and have feelings like anybody else, and we really cannot underestimate the impact that social media abuse can have on an individual.
“Football, the players, and social media companies need to come together to solve this because this is a moment in time.
“If we don’t make positive progress I really, really worry about the path we are heading on.”
Days after, Arteta hinted that the club were working on a plan for long-term change.
“It’s not going to stop tomorrow, we know that, we want to do something medium or long term,” he said. “It’s part of the job, I am not the only one suffering this type of thing.
“When you are winning it is beautiful, you are incredible and you are the best coach. When you lose it is the opposite, it’s not pleasant. When it is personal against me I can take it, but when it is my family involved it is a different story.
“The club is very supportive, we do what we have to when those things happen. Medium, long term, can we do something about it? We need to protect people in the game.”
Obviously, this is a very complicated issue, one that extends outside of football into wider society and beyond. While the authorities get their shit together play catch up with technology, it’s great that the club has stuck its head above the parapet and appears willing to play its part in pushing for change.
Ultimately, that change starts with each and every one of us. You are responsible for what you say and what you write.
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As an aside to this, we’d like to point you in the direction of our most recent reminder about commenting on Arseblog News. Pay special attention to Blogs’ “Don’t Be A Dick” rule…it outlines a very simple philosophy:
Think about someone you know who is a dick. We all know someone. Don’t be like them.
As you type away, ask yourself ‘Would Bukayo Saka – the nicest young man alive – post this?’, and if the answer is no, maybe think about how it is you want to get your opinion across.
Nothing can happen until social media companies do something, either off their own back or through imposed regulations.
Don’t see them doing it themselves so its time for governments to come in and force them to require ID to register accounts.
The ID thing won’t work. How do you then deal with people who are more than happy to be abusive using their real names?
There are also good reasons for anonymity.
This may be stupid, but what if we just disable comments? And instead just let people like it or post an emoji. No way that can be racist or abusive and the message gets across. Atleast the person who posted the original message must have the option to do this.
I don’t think you can simply shut down discussion and debate because some people are awful – and it is really a minority. Why should the majority be penalised for that? What’s important is that platforms try and maintain high standards. Of course it’s much easier for us here on Arseblog to do that, there are far fewer people and it’s a much smaller online space, but we a zero tolerance approach to the worst stuff like racism, homophobia etc. I think what frustrates people about the bigger platforms is that they pay lip-service to that kind of stuff, because the… Read more »
in my opinion, people who make such hateful comments are in the minority, but make the most noise and it is their comments that are the most visible
similar to how there are lots of good deeds that happen all around the world but the media focuses on negative news because it gets them revenue and trp
They are only really tapping into something that is part of our evolutionary makeup. We are as programmed to respond to potential danger as we are breathing air. That’s why it is so important that we have a media that doesn’t abuse its responsibility of creating balanced and considered articles. Now I’m not downplaying the virus stuff, but my sister-in-law has spent the last 12 months inside her house and her head, refusing to let any of us see our brother or our nephew and niece. It’s become like a hostage situation. She put so much anti bac on my… Read more »
No offense. But, if the abuse comes from the minority – why these approaches? Debate hardly comes across without any passion, and those that are passionate are the ones that keep on screaming what others need to do. I don’t care for that. I can appreciate your stance in not shutting down discussion, many sites rely on them to keep relevant. I think you put out an alright production, though I don’t drink all the kool aide – I don’t see why you and others can’t continue without a comment section? Read only works on so many levels. Abuse is… Read more »
At the end of the day society must address the social and economic reasons behind hate. Addressing the symptoms might help a bit but the underlying issues must be resolved to make a real difference.
I totally agree with you Dave. I had a plumber round the other day and he casually said “Yeah, well the way the Muslim’s breed, there will be more of them than us soon and we’ll be living under Shara (he got it wrong) law”. I was a bit blown away that he felt it was acceptable to say this to a client or out in public at all. It’s the product of the Farage mentality where people feel they have a god given right to speak as they wish. And you know the really sad thing? I didn’t call… Read more »
I have had situations like this happen as well and normally I am the first to leap to someone’s defence if they are the target of racism/homophobia/general ignorance etc, however, I was so shocked at the time I was speechless and I felt terrible afterwards that I hadn’t spoken up!
I think the ID thing would work, to a degree. These platforms could require ID to register, and still allow people to have ‘anonymous’ usernames.
I understant why anonymity might be useful for something like Twitter, allowing whistleblowers to err blow whistles. But Instagram and Facebook type networks don’t need it at all. If people have their accounts linked to a proper form of ID they would be far easier to block and can be referred straight to the police with no hassle.
ID verification is not a dealbreaker for most people, it’s necessary for AirBnB and some dating platforms. It really could work.
They get banned, and eventually they’re all gone lol
Until the fake ID market takes off! 🙂
I don’t use any social media (except for Arseblog), but however evil these companies are I am not sure it’s their responsibility to do something, at the end of it all, they are a merely a platform. Of course they should condemn hate speech but plastering over it with regulations just moves the racism and abuse elsewhere. It’s part of a bigger problem. There is systemic racism in the UK and beyond, and we need huge changes in society so people are properly educated. While social media companies should have some responsibility we need to look past that and find… Read more »
If a boy decides to call himself Hitler and organises a Nazi group glorifying murder, do the people who allow him to do this on their sites have a duty to act? I think so.
How long was this going on before any action was taken?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-56577064
If a boy decides to call himself Hitler and organises a Nazi group glorifying murder then he should be dealt with by the authorities with the harshest possible penalty. The same as any similar crimes.
I totally agree. But Facebook, Twitter and the rest could have stopped him well before the law had to get involved, but they don’t.
I don’t want to sound preachy, but I deleted all social media during the first pandemic lockdown. Best decision I made in a while. I would 100 % recommend it to everyone, social media is broken and poison
I totally agree. I did the same back in 2017 and I have never once been tempted to rejoin. Life is so much simpler, so much happier, and it’s so much easier for me to make my own decisions about things. It’s incredible how these platforms create a bubble around you.
Somebody ask me why i am Arsenal fan again???
I love this Club
Good to see Arsenal are trying. Like with Henry, if enough people say no to the crap that is flying around, then change can happen. Passively waiting for social media companies to do something will not fix this.
I think that Arsenal can go further in laying down the rules. Having rules about not passing the ball across the goal when an attacker is there (see the Burnley match), starting the match and not going 3 goals down in the first half (West Ham), doing more than 4 sprints in a half (Auba) and similar would reduce the number of people getting upset on social media.
Not the place or time for this, if your intent is some kind of sarcastic humour. And if it’s meant to be taken seriously, then this is galaxy-level missing the point.
No sarcasm, just humour. As some people recognised.
Subtle good humour – like yours – often goes way beyond the heads of a good many on here.
Unless you’re making juvenile jokes about balls and willies then everything gets taken literally. Obtuse.
It annoyed me a bit that gareth b*le would join in if everyone does. Like come on man, thats the problem, people only want to do it when everyone else is. But the problem is i guess is nothing will change until everyone does. I personally deleted my social media platforms as i couldnt take all the hate on there. And its stupid, who cares what i had for lunch? Anyway, its good to see Arsenal making an effort, and the first club to do so publicly?
What did our club do when Ozil deigned to criticise China and that government’s treatment of the Uighurs? ‘Arsenal has always adhered to the principle of not involving itself in politics’
Arsenal want to get involved in stopping abuse, unless the Chinese are doing it, then it is radio silence.
It may be uncomfortable, but weighing in on what is or what is not hate speech is politics.
How about AFC just drop their social media, its poison and they will not be able to pay a year out student to man it in about 6 months.
Let’s not confuse matters with a “catch-all” approach here. Online abuse directed at players and the management of a football club by individuals is one thing. How a country deals with a minority population within its borders – however despicable that might be – is clearly “political” and different in this context. Arsenal as a football club can obviously do their best to try and combat the former – as the article suggests – but equally, as a football club, they can’t, and shouldn’t, involve themselves in the latter. What Ozil chose to do regarding publicising the plight of the… Read more »
I don’t think the distinction you are making holds much water. There is no difference, in principle, between criticising Qatar for its murderous treatment of the workers preparing the World Cup, as the Norway team (as well as Arseblog) have done, and criticising China’s treatment of Uighurs. Should Arsenal Football Club now distance itself from Norway’s captain–Martin Odegaard–and explain that it is just his personal opinion? Actually, we don’t have to worry about this, because AFC is okay with critcising Qatar–the enemy of our stadium and shirt sponsor, the UAE. What would happen if Hector Bellerin, for example, pointed out… Read more »
Hi Biggles. I disagree. Have you ever looked at the Facebook AFC page during June, when our social media account is festooned with rainbow flags and colourful laces? A vocal minority of our fanbase from Africa and the Middle-east publish comments that we may find ‘hateful’ or ‘hate speech’. In other cultures, this kind of June-time support is considered abhorrent and blasphemous to the point that it would be criminal on their shores. Block them, lets suspend their speech? But wait, they are people of colour, a religious minority! Are we to use our privilege to quash the voices of… Read more »
I think I’m getting confused by what point you’re trying to raise here? “ My point is, as soon as you get into the business of governing speech that you do not like, the realm of politics has been entered into. ” It’s not speech we don’t like. It’s illegal in this country to discriminate on grounds of race or sexuality. There are many practices in other countries that we do not tolerate here. Discriminatory speech is wrong and must be challenged at every opportunity. To your other point about Uighurs. The way the club handled that incident was shameful.… Read more »
I am saying, the club is willing to be censorious with the speech of supports/public on social media platforms, but remain silent on other issues that are deleterious (such as the China issue), then we have an unacceptable double-standard and break in the club’s moral philosophy. My wish would be for the club to either stick to its principles, no matter who is saying it, or do not engage. AFC are willing to criticise/block the speech of a hateful supporter (customer) £ but are not willing to do the same with China (customer) ££ or Rwanda (customer) £££ or the… Read more »
Thanks for clarifying. Really hard to argue with what you’re saying.
Football started to lose its soul about the time the premier league came into existence.
I think we might be reaching tipping point, if the shit with migrant worker deaths for the World Cup can be tolerated, then the battle has already been lost.
Absolutely nailed it. Top post.
You’re nailing it, Corkey. Some dangerous waters are being entered by people who, I won’t say should know better, but actually don’t know or seem to care to know at all. Anthropologically, philosophically, psychologically it’s actually quite fascinating. Social media is lining up its tail and getting reading to bite.
This is a great point. I’d say yes people from U.K. ethnic minority backgrounds who make discriminatory & homophobic comments should be suspended if it goes against terms and conditions of usage. At the end of the day, the legislation of the home country matters and there are anti-discrimination laws in the UK for a reason. Unbeknownst to some, anti-discrimination legislation in the UK has been used to prosecute offenders from minority backgrounds before. A person from an ethnic-minority background is not “more protected” when they propagate hate-speech or acts of extreme prejudice. The punishment would not be any different… Read more »
Well said sir. Sickening double standards
I’m all for “don’t be a dick” simple enough philosophy for life, but they can get fucked if they think I’m giving my ID to those fuckers.
I’d rather delete all my social media than let them have access to my personal information.
‘The Great Hack’ and ‘The Social Dilemma’. Don’t know what social media you use but man, but generally if you do it’s too late to choose whether you want to give them your details or not. They prob already have it. And it’s messed up!!
I appreciate the sentiment, but I’ve been on the Internet for a long time and know how to protect my privacy. I never signed up to twatbook, but my sister created an account for me. They have never had any real information from me (other than my name) and I have never allowed their apps on my phone. However, they can still scrape data from my connection to my sister, which is frankly more than I’d like. I have had a twitter account for over a decade now, so they probably know shitloads about me, but they didn’t used to… Read more »
They most likely already know more about you than any of your friends and family. If you feel the way you do I would recommend deleting all your social media now.
Slightly naive no?
They know more about you than you can ever imagine. Every google search, every social media post, every location you have ever been with your phone, l your home, your family, your most-used contacts. If you think not giving them your passport is in any way stopping them knowing who you are then think again. That ship has long since sailed my friend.
Whilst this is true, there is the matter of consent that differs the two cases. Corporations by large all scoop up as much data at all times. We agree to this naively via terms and conditions (and some if it we don’t agree to at all, but they will still do). However, asking for explicit ID verification is a far more direct and serious form of data collection. It goes from “we will infer your identity (and interests, personality, socioeconomic status, etc) from the data we can get” to “you are handing us your identity on a silver plate”. There… Read more »
Not sure why you’ve been down voted, you’ve quite eloquently articulated my sentiments.
By signing up to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or others you’ve already compromised your position. From the first moment you signed up, the default is that they own your data. They then cross check that data against other data about you on the internet, and your soul is theirs. Far better to have never signed up in the first place.
But I fully appreciate your sentiment.
Don’t follow other clubs so don’t really see what they do. But are other clubs taking the lead or doing something similar?
Proud of Arsenal for taking a stand, but the companies have to be held to account to make necessary changes.
I’m all for stopping abuse but that registration bit is scary. I don’t pretend to have an answer but I don’t think giving my ID to corporations should be part of it.
In the time that I have posted on here, I have been called every name under the sun, been accused of being a Tottenham fan on countless occasions, mocked for my senior age, told I was in need of psychiatric help, had members of my family insulted and even had someone enquire of me whether or not I was sexually abused as a child – (Sagger, come on down). Why? Because, as an Arsenal fan on an Arsenal fan site, I expressed a difference of opinion concerning a certain (now departed) Arsenal player. It’s happening now, on this site, right… Read more »
it’s sad that you have being through all this. but there were times when you have ridiculed (bullied) with same harshness on this platform towards other.
I was treated to your savagery once when i suggested nelson was better then pepe few months back. Your reason for being a bully was that you were bullied before and why not return the favour. this mentality is not going to help any of us in the long run.
Well said goongot. No doubt some posters’ comments to Qwalitee were way beyond the pale, but the vast majority were no worse or – in a lot of cases – less insulting than what he was dishing out himself on a regular basis
That’s a fair comment too. 👍🍺
Fair play
That’s a fair comment. 👍🍺
Although it may seem the same to Arsenal supporters, being accused of supporting Spurs is not the same as being racially abused. No one should be saying anything about your family or your age, however.
Cheers mate. Much appreciated. 👍🍺
Try not saying anything about the poster, stick to his opinion. Play the ball, not the man. As Mustafi never said.
I thought you left this site but anyway what you thought was expressing an opinion was attacking anyone who dared have a different opinion with you . It was done with such anger and a condescending manner I questioned where it came from but at the end of the day I was standing up to a keyboard bully who threw the first punch. Never had a problem with anyone else on here but you seem problems with many but figure it out you’re the common denominator.
That’s exactly how I see it too and I don’t know where it comes from either.
I think he must be confusing some users for other people at times. Just recently, he said that I always resort to name calling when I had replied to him for basically the first time since I started reading Arseblog.
And from now on, I shall be calling out anyone who resorts to name calling, or insulting members of my family.
And – this goes for everyone – don’t expect any replies involving the subject of Mesut Ozil.
The guy has left the club and people on this site who were so quick to tell me to ‘Move on’ and ‘Shut Up’ should now heed their own advice and practice what they preach.
Move On. Shut Up.
You “questioned where it had come from”….?
You implied that I had been sexually abused as a child.
Whatever you do mate, don’t ever go into journalism….
people who question a fan loyalty towards arsenal due to their country of birth are also racist. Not all are lucky enough to be born in a country where arsenal was founded but we all are the biggest fan of this famous club – AsianGooner
This. “Go support your local club”. If you have read that once, you read a hundred times.
Very rare on this site, people are quick to respond (kudos, Arseblog), but the article talks about Twitter, and that’s a different kettle of fish altogether.
Don’t mind them goongot, it’s a weird form of elitism. Even though I am a local supporter, I am well-aware that things such as the stadium and record signings would not be possible without our global fan-base.
None of them would want to be supporting a team like Milwall. That’s probably one of the few professional clubs in London that still has that “gatekeeping” mentality and they are LOSING fans. Eventually only the groundskeeper will be the one watching their games.
social media companies swiftly block nsfw content but look the other way when racial abuse comes into play
and when they do find someone guilty of racial abuse, they let him/her go because ‘they deserve a second chance-‘ shut the fuck up you lazy bastards you don’t need to sugarcoat you incompetence
racism, sexism and all such problems are real and it looks like everyone except for the people in power is aware of them
I thought Henry’s point was pretty incisive: you guys seem to have no problem removing anything you believe infringes on a trademark or copyright. Act that quickly and decisively against abuse.
Good luck with that one.
Unfortunately we’re finding that the definition of hate is being politically manipulated by those in control of the medium. For instance, it’s become popular and acceptable to use hateful language towards “straight white males”, and of course on Arseblog it’s very popular to use vulgar language towards another London club. While I’m generally in favour of being nicer towards people, let’s be careful of creating a 1984-style control society, which is where we’re heading at full steam at the moment. When you get to the point where you’re not allowed to call out things that have become mainstream, you’re in… Read more »
1984 is very apt, especially over the last 1-2 years or so. Again, and this in no way diminishes the genuine attempts of doing good such as might underlie the efforts above, it’s all very interesting, baby, bath water and all that, but who’s doing the scooping.
RIP Claude
I actually find old school Claude and modern day Ty to be quite the double act – and I know I’m not alone here. Claude’s familiar bellow “It’s Time To Wake Up (And Smell The Coffee)” is always a comedic antidote to a bad and/or painful defeat.
It’s the other dude with the baseball cap, whose eyes turn to saucers if we so much as give away a throw-in who can sometimes get a bit much. His blood pressure must be volcanic.
It seems Claude has actually passed away; I misinterpreted your post, Dave.
What a shame. He wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he made me laugh many times. No one could ever have doubted his passion for The Arsenal.
May he rest in peace.
Can only assume those that have downvoted haven’t heard the news? Claude of AFTV fame unfortunately passed away yesterday. There’s pictures doing the rounds of him quote replying to a hate tweet yesterday and saying ‘don’t worry I’ll be with my mum soon’ or something along those lines. Truly horrifying stuff. He was ‘cancelled’ for making statements on live streams that were deemed unacceptable in today’s society and then abused and the current belief is that he took his own life. I didn’t always agree with the guy and certainly am no fan of AFTV but no one deserves this.… Read more »
Forgot to add – he was a true fan of the club. Very passionate and very knowledgeable. A real shame he’s no longer with us.
He had used a racial slur on a live stream, but nuances must be made between what is actually hateful and what is said out of habit/lack of awareness. He should not have been cancelled. The guy needed AFTV. And those people who bullied him later are as bad as the most hateful racist out there. Will miss Claude, he was a good man. 🙁
Very bad day, I have been feeling really sad since I heard the news, RIP Claude. The most humorous criticism after a loss often comes from Claude but it seems he was suffering in life. Never been affected this way by the loss of person, I have never met. When he left AFTV, I subscribed to his channel.
Dave, this is heartbreaking to read. Claude was the reason I even watched AFTV back in 2014 and was definitely a big reason for the channel’s growth. I remember many Gooners launched a campaign to find him when he went missing a few years back. We all feared the worst then. The man has been through a great deal. I never saw the video that led to his departure but I do know many people pressured the AFTV sponsors and ultimately Robbie to suspend him It saddens me to hear that we are also the reason for sending him to… Read more »
Speaking of online hate it is with great sadness that I heard Claude of former AFTV fame has died. He was one of my favourite personalities and the first name I used to go to watch on AFTV back in the day. I didn’t always agree with his opinions but he had passion. More so than some of these fake “influencers” that wear caps and act like kids on there now. He was thrown under the bus by AFTV. They knew he had mental health problems and that Arsenal was all he had. Combine that with catching Covid and being… Read more »
Top post. A fitting tribute. He was as old school as the come – I had a chat with him once in The Gunners Bar about the 1971 Double side. It was a Friday lunchtime and some builders came in for a few pints. One of them made no secret that he was a Spud and thought he could take on Claude with some banter. Claude absolutely had him on toast and my sides were aching from laughter. He was a great character and as you say, had a heart of gold. He absolutely lived for The Arsenal. The match… Read more »
Yes, the Claude news broke me man. He was a good man. He had used a racial slur on a live stream, but nuances must be made between what is hateful and what is said out of habit/lack of awareness. I don’t blame Robbie, the guy was his friend, but do wish AFTV had not cancelled him entirely. The guys who bullied Claude, they are the real problem in this world.
Loved Claude’s show with TY, and his honesty in front of the camera. Will miss him.
Not related to the article, but Lucas Torreira’s mother passed away due to COVID related complications
That’s really sad. I hope the little shirtless hero(when he scored against Sp*rs) is okay. Love to him and his family.
I think people are under the impression that they are going to be able to stop people being dicks. It’s not going to happen. In the terraces you hear it and nobody has a campaign to stop the vile things that are said, except if they are racist. There are other equally awful things said around kids and others.
This doesn’t help provide an idea for a solution, but the beauty of social media is, it’s an option. I stopped using it for this exact reason years ago and couldn’t be happier with my decision.
Perfectly said David Hilliers Arm Cast.
Regardless of whether we can stop hate or not we should do our best to address it and not let it run rampant.
Run rampant where? On an app on your phone? Leave it for them to be disgusting to each other. 👍🏼
ID verification for twitter makes no sense and also shoving all the responsibility to companies to regulate is kind of twisted as well. There are kind of reasonable solutions for this anyhow, in terms of public personalities twitter could have separate branch of the platform for them, which would be separate from twitter. I guess in such platform you could have ID verification for people to be able to comment with accountability and strict conditions. Otherwise in order to solve twitter shitstorm, it takes big, almost global systemic societal change and that is something to work towards iteratively, it won’t… Read more »
Agree 100%.
Disagree 100%
There is no ‘reasonable solution’ so long as those platforms are making money out of hate, controversy and anything at all that creates heat.
A separate branch of twitter would lose it’s USP of ‘normal people’ being able to share the same space as celebrities.
The big social media platforms make their own rules and there’s b*gger all you or I can do about except pull the plug. Thierry has the right idea.
Hats off to Thierry Henry, if you’re serious then walk the walk.
Shout as much as you want about these social media giants “getting their act together”: THEY WON’T
and for people to stop being dicks: THEY WONT EITHER.
Get out of the problem, or else you’re just feeding it.
Just because you turn your back on a problem doesn’t mean the problem no longer exists.
No, but by participating we are guaranteeing it will continue to exist.
Be Best
It’s a very sad reflection on social media and society in general as well as the platforms that provide it that Arsenal feel the need to ‘launch an initiative’ at all.
Test
The bigger issue is why so many people complain about social media being toxic, as if they don’t have an option to not be on it. Oh wait they won’t be able to share every precious thought that so many are dying to read. Fuck off and take the ego with you. Instead of wasting their lives on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. full of the worst humanity has to offer, how about enjoying your fucking life? Think of all the time people waste on social media sites. I personally know people who spend hours, literally hours on social… Read more »