How the IOC protected athletes at the Paris Games from cyberabuse

More than 10,200 online posts and comments about athletes and officials participating in the 2024 Summer Games in Paris were deemed abusive through what the International Olympic Committee is calling “the largest and most comprehensive service of its kind in sports history.”
What the Switzerland-based IOC billed as an “online abuse protection service” for the 10,400 athletes and officials at the Paris Games used artificial intelligence to sift through some 2.4 million posts and comments directed at their social media accounts on X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
A total of 20,000 social media accounts were monitored in real time and in more than 35 languages as part of the implementation for the Olympic AI Agenda. It was the largest online abuse prevention program ever conducted in sport, the IOC said, and “an extremely effective way of enhancing athlete well-being during the Olympic Games.”
According to the IOC, that process flagged more than 152,000 posts and comments as “potentially abusive,” often before they’d reached their target. Of those, more than 10,200 were verified as abusive and reported to the platforms on which they appeared for removal. Abusive messages were said to have been detected from 8,900 unique accounts.
Insights cited about the abuse include:
The IOC provided “on-the-ground safeguarding and mental health support” to the athletes and officials targeted online. The support included the first-ever “Mind Zone” in the Olympic Village housing for athletes, intended to help reduce stress using what was described as “an immersive virtual reality mindfulness experience.”
There was also a network of “safeguarding officers” available, from 74 of the participating national Olympic committees, 41 international sports federations and the IOC, as well as clinical help. A “Mentally Fit” helpline offered assistance 24/7 in 70 languages, the IOC said.
Kristy Burrows, the IOC’s head of safe sport, said cyberabuse causes real harm.
“These figures demonstrate the scale of protection that was provided at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 — and the scale of online abuse that athletes and officials face,” Burrows said. “The legacy of this initiative, which put athlete well-being front and center, will continue long after the Games.”
A detailed report on the new initiative is expected by early next year and will be used to develop “data-driven strategies to protect athletes and officials from cyberabuse, which causes real harm,” she said.