A month after introducing a social media moderation program to tackle online abuse, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly concluded a trial of an AI-powered tool aimed at filtering out cyberbullying.
During the Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, this program found that nearly 20% of comments on player and team social media pages were either harmful or generated by bots, according to a report.
ICC partnered with GoBubble, a tech company, to analyze 1,495,149 comments across 60 player accounts and eight team accounts, revealing that 271,100 of these comments contained racism, sexism, homophobia, or other forms of abuse.
The monitored accounts were from players and teams who volunteered, as part of ICC’s effort to create a safer environment for players amidst growing interest in women’s cricket. “One of the objectives of the ICC is to look at ways in which we can inspire as many women and girls to play cricket as possible,” said ICC Digital Head Finn Bradshaw. Bradshaw emphasized that online abuse can discourage young talent, highlighting the ICC’s commitment to making the sport welcoming and supportive.
South African wicketkeeper-batter Sinalo Jafta, who has faced online abuse, has been at the forefront of this initiative. Previously, she relied on friends and family to filter out abusive comments, but with the AI tool, she hopes for a safer online experience.
“There is nothing worse than opening up your phone after a loss—or after a victory—and regardless of what side you find yourself on, there is always some degrading comment about your personality,” Jafta said in an ICC media release.
The GoBubble app addresses social media abuse by detecting abusive language in multiple languages and by customizing filters for specific players or teams. It also identifies bots that post irrelevant content on profiles. “There’s a whole range of words: swear words, slurs, or insults, but the best part about this software is that you can individualize it,” Bradshaw explained.
The ICC has opened sign-ups for the service to women cricketers until the end of 2025 and is considering offering it to male players as well. “We wanted to do a trial to see how it goes, and we will produce a report,” Bradshaw said, noting the potential interest from male players.
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Name of Author: Cricexec Staff
