March 21, 2023

FIA President announces new plan to combat online abuse in motorsport – FormulaNerds

FIA President, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, has announced a new intend to combat the online abuse of drivers and team members and make motorsport “appealing to all”.  

Mohammed ben Sulayem, FIA President, responded to concerns of a pro-Mercedes bias. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Speaking at the FIA  Annual General Assembly in Bologna, Sulayem revealed: “We are conducting research and building relationships with the EU, sporting bodies, and social media companies with a goal of convening a summit to make firm commitments to stop online hate. ”

There have been several high profile cases of on the internet hate toward drivers plus team members in F1. Most notably within 2021, Nicholas Latifi received so many hateful messages on social networking, he was forced to leave the sites and even hired private security.

Sulayem continued:

“I really want the particular FIA in order to play the lead role in reducing online misuse worldwide. ”

“That is why we have taken steps to tackle online mistreatment by using artificial intelligence to clean up our social media.

“Since we started using it in October, it has instantly blocked 2, 400 severely toxic messages from appearing. ”

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In November associated with 2022, Sulayem made another statement upon online abuse after steward Silvia Bellot was the subject of death threats.

“Passions run higher in sport, but on-line harassment, misuse and dislike speech must not be tolerated.

“Everyone in our sport, from the media, teams, motorists and fans has a role to play. We cannot ignore this. I urge the entire motorsport ecosystem to take a stand.

“We must call it out. It has in order to stop. ”

Featured Image  Credit: Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Pictures

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