Algorithms amplified World Cup racism, says report

Racist abuse aimed at England footballers on social media was amplified during the World Cup by algorithms designed to maximise engagement and profit, according to new research.

The activist group Hope Not Hate analysed more than 300,000 posts on the platform X (formerly Twitter) during the 2026 World Cup and found more than 5,500 explicitly racist posts targeting England players.

The organisation argues that X's recommender algorithm pushed toxic content into millions of feeds, because posts which provoke anger and outrage can generate more interaction.

Posts generating strong reactions keep people on the platform for longer and can ultimately help drive advertising revenue.

"X is actually benefiting from this hate," Patrik Hermansson, senior researcher at Hope Not Hate told BBC Sport.

"It drives engagement on its platform and it effectively uses its algorithm to elevate and show it to more of its users.

"They show up in the recommendation feed - they are not obscure corners of this website, they are front and centre.

Jude Bellingham was the player most targeted by racist abuse, while Bukayo Saka and Kobbie Mainoo experienced the highest proportion of racism compared with the total number of posts mentioning them.

Djed Spence, who has converted to Islam in recent years, was also subjected to a distinct stream of anti-Muslim abuse, Hope Not Hate said.

In addition, researchers examined how abuse gathered in the replies to individual high-profile posts on the platform.

In its response to the report, an FA spokesperson said "all players have the right to play without being exposed to hateful, discriminatory and distressing content online".

"We want service providers to take all of the necessary steps to create a safer life online for everyone," it added.

Hope Not Hate said current attempts to tackle online abuse often focused too heavily on what happens after a racist post had already been seen.

Players can block users, report messages and platforms can suspend accounts, but Hermansson says those measures do not address the way abusive content is amplified.