Signify + Kick It Out
Signify have partnered with anti-racism organisation Kick It Out to test and deploy Threat Matrix as a proactive defence against online abuse for footballers. In the Times today, Kick It Out’s Chairman, Sanjay Bhandari, pointed to the work that the organisation is doing with Signify as an example of the kind of activities Premier League Clubs and League Associations should be driving towards.
Read the full piece in The Times here - we have excerpted the technical bits below. Great to see momentum building towards meaningful action that can protect players and their families.
Sanjay Bhandari said: “We need to use data to monitor progress against inclusion targets. We also need to be more creative in the fight against online abuse. We need to team with the social media giants and run campaigns. But we also need to find our own solutions.”
Referring directly to the Threat Matrix Pilot study Signify have been developing for the Premier League’s Project Restart, Mr Bhandari commented: “Kick It Out has devised a social media monitoring pilot with a company called Signify. We aim to trial it with clubs this season and expand it next season.”
“This will help us to pursue the worst online offenders, providing an evidence trail to law enforcement. Online abuse is likely to increase when football returns behind closed doors. Football has an opportunity to take a lead in tackling hate for the initial cost of a hospitality table.”
Together with Kick It Out, Signify are in talks with a number of Premier League teams with a view to capturing data from the remaining fixtures of the 2019-20 campaign and preparing for a more comprehensive monitoring presence in the 2020-21 season.
Of particular interest will be an analysis of how playing behind closed doors will effect levels of abuse, add to this the recent racially motivated issues around Black Lives Matter and we do expect to see some interesting outcomes.
To learn more about how Threat Matrix can reduce online abuse through computational detection and early intervention, get in touch.
Image credit: PA