‘Death threats, misogyny, towards our families… it is time to eradicate it from football’: Wolves stars deliver powerful message calling for tech giants to stamp out online abuse as sport’s social media boycott begins
- Wolves have produced a video calling for tech giants to act against online abuse
- It heralded English football’s social media boycott, which started at 3pm Friday
- They also shared views on how the tech companies might make their sites safer
- Boss Nuno Espirito Santo believes the shutdown may need to be repeated
Wolves have called on social media giants to work harder to stamp out online abuse in a powerful message on their own channels.
Using several members of their first-team squad, the Premier League club have produced the video to herald English football’s social media boycott, which started at 3pm on Friday and runs until 10.59pm on Monday.
‘Death threats, misogyny, towards our families, towards our children,’ say the players. ‘It is time to eradicate it from football and society.
Raul Jimenez and Wolves have called on social media giants to work harder to stamp out online abuse
The Premier League club have produced the video including captain Conor Coady to herald English football’s social media boycott, which began at 3pm on Friday
‘To the abusers, to the racists, to the trolls – stop. Think about the consequences of your actions. The hate you aim at us, and the poison you pour into our DMs, can ruin people’s lives.
‘To the social media companies, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, it is time to act. You are letting hate crime go unpunished on your channels every day, and you are giving criminals a platform to abuse the most vulnerable without consequence.’
The message then shares the club’s suggestions for how the tech companies might make their sites safer for all.
‘Comment screening, improved verification process and re-registration prevention – it’s not hard to see how things could improve,’ add the players.
The message from Joao Moutinho and Co. then shares suggestions for how the tech companies might make their sites safer
The social media blackout on platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook will continue until 23:59 BST on Monday evening
‘We cannot be expected to just put up with it anymore. Enough is enough. It is it time for you to make a change.’
Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo believes the social media shutdown may need to be repeated for maximum effectiveness.
He said: ‘Will we have to repeat it again? Probably so, because things take time, for people to understand the right message. At the moment it is a good message.’
Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo believes the social media shutdown may need to be repeated