Agency Report — Ex-Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has announced he is quitting all forms of social media in a protest over the widespread abuse on the platforms.
A number of top stars have been and continue to be targeted by racist trolls via sites such as Twitter and Instagram, with those responsible facing little or no repercussions for their actions.
Much of the abuse tends to come from anonymous accounts yet Twitter and Facebook have insisted they wlll not stop the creation of such accounts, nor will they demand forms of verification to sanction their use.
Instead the big social media companies have vowed to tighten their in-house policing of abuse, but Henry is stepping away until he sees significant changes.
“Hi Guys,” he wrote on Twitter on Friday. “From tomorrow morning I will be removing myself from social media until the people in power are able to regulate their platforms with the same vigour and ferocity that they currently do when you infringe copyright.
“The sheer volume of racism, bullying and resulting mental torture to individuals is too toxic to ignore. There HAS to be some accountability.
“It is far too easy to create an account, use it to bully and harass without consequence and still remain anonymous.
“Until this changes, I will be disabling my accounts across all social platforms. I’m hoping this happens soon.”
Man Utd’s Marcus Rashford, Chelsea’s Reece James and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha are just some of the Premier League players who have been on the receiving end of sickening racist abuse in recent months.
England youngster Jude Bellingham, 17, was the latest to be targeted by trolls after his side, Borussia Dortmund, drew with Cologne on Saturday.
“From tomorrow morning I will be removing myself from social media until the people in power are able to regulate their platforms with the same vigour and ferocity that they currently do when you infringe copyrights.”
Hi Guys
From tomorrow morning I will be removing myself from social media until the people in power are able to regulate their platforms with the same vigour and ferocity that they currently do when you infringe copyright…. pic.twitter.com/gXSObqo4xg
— Thierry Henry (@ThierryHenry) March 26, 2021
