‘Racists to blame for abuse, not social media’
They knew they risked facing racism by their supporters, and still they stepped up for you/us
BAlex Beresford
RISTOL TV personality Alex Beresford has said social media is “not the source” of racism, in response to abuse directed at England players after the Euro 2020 final.
England lost the final 3-2 to Italy on penalties – players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka all failed to find the net. Since then, the young players – especially Saka, 19, who took the final kick – have suffered a torrent of racist abuse on social media.
Mr Beresford, a Bristol weatherman made famous by appearances on Good Morning Britain, has spoken out to say online networks are “not the source” of racism.
He said: “Whilst we point blame at social media companies for letting racist abuse through, that’s not the source! When those three lions stepped up don’t think they didn’t know what was on the line. They knew they risked facing racism by their supporters, and still they stepped up for you/us.”
Mr Beresford has spoken out on issues of race before.
The Duke of Cambridge, who is president of the Football Association and watched the final at Wembley, also condemned the abuse.
He wrote on Twitter: “I am sickened by the racist abuse aimed at England players ... It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour. It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”
Damian Green, a Conservative MP and member of Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said he believed that it would be “not too difficult” for social media platforms to do more to monitor racist comments made on their websites.
He told BBC’s World at One programme: “Their algorithms are incredibly good, and are able to target adverts at every one of their billions of users.
“I don’t think it would be that difficult, for example, to check on every use of the monkey emoji, and if it’s being used in an unacceptable context – as clearly it was over the past 24 hours – then take those posts down immediately and see if you can find out who the person who sent them was and get them off your platform.”
Facebook and Twitter condemned the abuse as “abhorrent”, saying they have taken steps to remove the posts and encouraged people to use filters to block out harmful content, but experts said more substantial action is now required to combat the ongoing problem.