Female athletes in crosshairs for online abuse – World Athletics

Online abuse during July’s world championships in Oregon was overwhelmingly directed at female athletes, with two competitors — a man and a woman — accounting for 40% of all abuse detected, World Athletics said Friday. In a study conducted during the World Athletics Championships in Eugene to identify and address abusive comments sent to athletes via Twitter and Instagram, findings reveal that sexualised and sexist abuse -– overwhelmingly targeted at female athletes -– made up over 40% of all detected posts. The accounts of 461 competitors were monitored between July 10-August 1 in a bid to detect any abuse leading in and out of the championships, as well as during the event itself. More details here.