Olympics-British athletes offered AI shield against online abuse

LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Top British athletes will soon have a new weapon in the fight against online abuse after UK Sport signed a 300,000 pound ($400,170.00) deal to provide AI-based protection across social media.

The government-funded body, which supports Olympic and Paralympic sports, has partnered with Social Protect, an app designed to detect and hide abusive posts in real time.

Thousands of athletes will be able to sign up for free and keep their accounts safeguarded throughout the Games cycle up to Los Angeles 2028.

"The level of abuse our athletes are facing online is unacceptable -- to do nothing about this is not an option," said UK Sport Director of Performance Kate Baker.

The agreement is the first of its kind in British sport.

Social Protect, already used by governing bodies in Australia, works like anti-virus software, scanning platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube for more than two million offensive words and phrases.

Any flagged messages are automatically hidden from comment sections or replies, and athletes can add their own triggers.

"The aim is to keep the comment section clean of racism, hatred, scams -- of all the horrible things that can exist on social media," said founder Shane Britten.

The system is not foolproof. It does not cover X, formerly Twitter, which a BBC investigation found was responsible for 82% of abuse aimed at soccer managers and players.

It also cannot block abusive direct messages, which remain visible unless athletes use separate, more costly services that require sharing login details.

Online abuse has plagued athletes since the rise of social media in the mid-2000s. Three-times Olympic badminton player Kirsty Gilmour, who has received death and rape threats and once involved the FBI in an investigation, welcomed the move.

"It feels empowering, like a real force field around my little corner of the internet," the 32-year-old Scot told the BBC. "They send things like 'I know where you live' or 'I know where you’ll be'. That's scary when you're far from home."

Gilmour said the apps ability to hide even seemingly innocuous insults could help protect mental health.

"If we can nip it in the bud from even one person, then hopefully we stop them doing more harm to others."

($1 = 0.7497 pounds)

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)