Esports study highlights community role in tackling online abuse
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Signify Group have partnered with German Insurance provider ARAG to conduct a study using artificial intelligence to analyse online toxicity in the Esports community.
Working with over 5.5 million comments on streams and posts from 250 Esports talents ARAG commissioned Signify’s Threat Matrix service over a 3 month period to determine the true picture of online abuse, with accounts on Twitch, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram incorporated into the study.
The results of the study illustrate the type and extent of online abuse towards Esports players. The study also shows how the community reacts to hate comments and how these drive and advance positive self-regulation - a finding unique to Esports versus other sports Threat Matrix has been deployed to cover.
Key numbers:
5,571,344 posts/comments/contributions analyzed
52,464 abusive posts/comments flagged and reviewed
1,407 abusive posts/comments verified
Key findings:
FORTNITE/LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: 51% of all toxic comments affected Fortnite players, with League of Legends players receiving the second highest proportion.
MOST COMMON CATEGORY: SEXUAL INSULTS: 43% of all comments identified involved sexualized terms, emojis or language.
GLORIFICATION OF VIOLENCE: Almost 10% of the comments contained violent fantasies and content that glorified violence.
The work was sponsored and initiated by German Insurance company ARAG, whose web@ktiv insurance offers protection against the consequences of fraud or bullying online.
ARAG’s Stop Hate initiative actively campaigns against all forms of cyberbullying and offers support on the topic. Those affected will find valuable advice and insights in the report, specifically around how to react correctly to attacks on the Internet. ARAG is also actively involved in prevention and conflict management in schools, for example through the use of school mediators, and carries out educational and research work.
To read the full report - see ARAG’s website:
https://www.arag.de/esports/assets/download/Die-ARAG-Hate-Speech-Studie.pdf
Image credit: Creative Commons License (image edited): https://www.flickr.com/photos/dota2ti/14916807681