Social Media and Online Hate in Sport: A Case Study of Association Football
Published in Routledge Handbook of Sport and Social Media
with Thomas Fletcher, Colm Kearns, Daniel Kilvington, Gary Sinclair, Theo Lynn, Mark Doidge, Guto Leoni Santos, Katie Liston, Itoitz Rodrigo-Jusue, and Pierangelo Rosati
Edited by Andrew C. Billings and Marie Hardin
Routledge
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to explore the relationship between sport and online hate, via a case study of the work of Tackling Online Hate in Football (TOHIF). In elucidating the challenge of online hate in sport, the chapter showcases how TOHIF is responding to online hate through a range of timely and innovative methodologies and interventions, including accessing large-scale longitudinal empirical datasets, developing tools and techniques to identify and classify online abuse, undertaking over 120 interviews and focus groups with professional male and female footballers from across the UK, a major survey of football fans, interviews with player care professionals, and interviews and educational workshops with sport journalists. The chapter advocates that scholarly research must play a leading role in combatting online hate; initially by deepening the understanding of it, and additionally through shaping the public discourse and education on how to respond to it. We finish this chapter by advocating for some blue sky thinking, and identifying some core areas for future investment.