The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the worldwide authority for motor sports and mobility organizations, has unveiled a groundbreaking research partnership aimed at enhancing the global fight against online abuse in sports.
This collaboration with the University of Notre Dame, a premier US research institution, will delve into the origins, effects, and prevention of online abuse in sports, investigating the rising influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in both the proliferation of harmful content and the creation of potential remedies.
Furthermore, the study will explore the intersection of online abuse with identity, alongside athletes’ experiences, mental health, and sports federations’ regulatory responses.
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The University of Notre Dame and the United Against Online Abuse (UAOA) initiative, launched in 2022 by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, are working together to tackle the escalating issue of online abuse in sports.
At the SEMA Show in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Ben Sulayem stated, “Our collective aim is to create a safer, more inclusive online sphere for athletes, teams, and fans globally.”
By employing AI-driven solutions along with surveys and policy research, the project seeks to monitor harassment patterns and identify potential threats. It also introduces digital literacy workshops and a “Digital Civility and Safety Quest” to guide young people in safely navigating online environments. These initiatives collectively aim to protect athletes and establish safer digital communities around sports.
The insights gathered from this research will feed into scholarly papers, including the UAOA Barometer report, the foremost annual analysis on online abuse in sports, contributing to actionable policy insights for safer online spaces within the global sports community.
The University of Notre Dame has also signed the UAOA Charter, officially joining the international coalition as the eighth academic institution to support the UAOA initiative.
UAOA’s expansion into the US is particularly significant, given the nation’s rich sports culture, where major leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB draw millions of fans and generate substantial online engagement.
The FIA’s UAOA initiative is a research-driven coalition backed by the FIA Foundation. The initiative has seen swift growth recently and was honored with Peace and Sport’s esteemed Coalition for Peace award.
