The utterly reprehensible racist abuse which appeared online following Euro 2020 has again brought to the fore the question of how racism, hate and abuse within the social media world can be tackled. What’s clear is that no single tool provides a perfect solution.
In terms of preventative measures, social media platforms present “filtering” as a key line of defence. Based on artificial intelligence (AI), messages and posts can be blocked before being sent or posted if they contain racist or discriminatory material. However, even the most sophisticated AI technology cannot unpack the context in which every message is presented by users. Ordinary words, letters, characters, images can be presented in a way which would be too nuanced for AI technology to understand. A line of defence, but not an entirely perfect one.
Sharron Webster, head of D&I, Trowers & Hamlins
