Cricket has completed a significant social media moderation trial, revealing that nearly 20% of comments on player and team social media accounts are harmful or generated by bots. The program, conducted during the Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, involved the ICC using an AI tool from tech company GoBubble to combat online bullying. It analyzed over 1.4 million comments across 60 player accounts and eight team accounts, identifying 271,100 instances of racism, sexism, homophobia, and other abuses.
The ICC offered this service to create a safer environment for players, particularly given the increasing attention on women’s cricket. ESPNcricinfo previously highlighted the prevalence of abuse directed at female players, making this initiative especially timely. Finn Bradshaw, the ICC’s Head of Digital, stated, “Our goal is to inspire more women and girls to play cricket. The abuse they face online can be incredibly discouraging.”
The GoBubble tool detects abusive language in multiple languages and can be customized for individual players or teams. It filters out comments related to personal incidents that players want to avoid, as well as bots promoting unrelated content, enhancing the social media experience for fans.
Sinalo Jafta, the South African wicketkeeper-batter, has been a prominent advocate for this initiative, sharing her struggles with online abuse. She previously relied on friends to manage her social media but now feels more empowered to share her life without fear of judgment.
The ICC aims to promote positive social media engagement to inspire future players. The service is currently available for women’s players until the end of 2025, with plans to expand it to male players if there is demand.
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