BERLIN, Aug. 19 (dpa/EP) –
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has leaked more than 8,500 insulting or abusive messages to athletes on various online platforms during the Olympic Games held in Paris between July 27 and August 11.
The IOC Athletes’ Commission said the messages were verified and escalated for further action using a system supported by artificial intelligence (AI).
“As representatives of the athletes, we condemn, in the strongest terms, all forms of attack and harassment, regardless of one’s views on certain decisions. We wholeheartedly extend our sympathy and support to the athletes and individuals affected by this unacceptable behaviour,” the commission said.
Ahead of the Games, Kirsty Burrows, head of the IOC’s Safe Sport unit, said some 500 million event-related messages were expected on social media, and said the AI-powered system would monitor thousands of accounts across all major social media platforms in real time and in more than 35 languages.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif in particular came under fire on social media. The Olympic champion, as well as her fellow boxer, Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting, saw their right to compete in the women’s event called into question after both were disqualified from the 2023 World Championships for failing gender tests, which included blood and other tests but not testosterone tests.
The Paris prosecutor’s office announced last week that an investigation had been opened for cyberbullying based on sex, public insults and public incitement to discrimination. According to the authorities, Khelif filed a complaint and her lawyer, Nabil Boudi, wrote on the social network ‘X’ that the investigation should reveal who was behind the “misogynistic, racist and sexist campaign” against the boxer.