Huge rise in harmful social media posts this World Cup

There have been 14 times more harmful posts and comments during the 2026 World Cup compared to the 2022 tournament, Fifa's social media protection service has found.

A total of more than seven million messages have been identified and removed this summer.

That is a significant increase from 470,000 such posts and comments at the previous World Cup.

The social media protection service (SMPS) is a digital shield available to all teams, coaches, players and officials participating in Fifa's tournaments.

It moderated more than 53 million posts and comments during the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

AI detected more than 530,000 messages targeted at specific individuals and these have been assessed by the SMPS team.

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