INTERACT
TOHIF is an active dialogue with a wide and varied audience concerning the issue of online hate in football. Below are some of the examples of our efforts to contribute to that conversation:
What’s the Story Podcast – July 2024
Dr Colm Kearns appeared on the award-winning What’s the Story podcast to talk about the TOHIF project and the implications and manifestations of online hate in football
The podcast can be found here.
TOHIF Newsletter
TOHIF is launching a newsletter to share their latest updates, academic insights, and special reports on tackling online hate in football. The project has gathered and analysed Twitter data from 2008 – 2022, centring on the men’s and women’s UEFA European Championships during that time, in order to understand the evolution of online hate in football. The newsletter will showcase key learnings on this issue and upcoming relevant events,
Sign up here
TOHIF Article on The Conversation – June 2024
Dr Gary Sinclair wrote on article for The Conversation. The article outlines the nature and findings of the TOHIF Project, arguing that though football is a magnet for online abuse, it is also the ideal platform to challenge it.
The article can be found here.
TOHIF at Fair Game UK – May 2024
TOHIF’s Dan Kilvington and Colm Kearns appeared at Fair Game UK’s annual conference at AFC Wimbledon’s Plough Lane ground. Dan spoke at a panel on online hate in football, while Colm manned a stall on the project, engaging in lively conversations on the issue with a variety of concerned stakeholders. More info can be found here.
Dr Jack Black talks TOHIF on the SPHERE Podcast – March 2024
TOHIF’s Dr Jack Black appeared on the University of Bath’s Sport, Physical Activity, and Health Equality (SPHERE) podcast series. Jack discussed sport, psychoanalysis and the TOHIF Project.
The episode can be found here.
TOHIF Workshops at Sky Sports Studios – January & February 2024
TOHIF team members were invited to Sky Sports Studios in London to deliver workshops to the broadcaster’s staff. Held in three sessions over January and February, the workshops centred on the risks and impacts of online harms for sports journalists. Utilising TOHIF’s original research into the problem and inviting Sky staff to share their own experiences, the workshops provided all involved with valuable insights on how to address online harms suffered by sports journalists.
Further Coverage of TOHIF’s paper on Manchester City & Sportswashing
TOHIF’s recently published paper, “‘Best Run Club in the World”: Manchester City Fans and the Legitimation of Sportswashing?’ (available in The International Review for Sociology of Sport) has been the subject of further media attention with the 42’s Gavin Cooney writing an article on it. Dr Colm Kearns also spoke to Q102’s Weekend Sports Show about the paper and the issues it raises.
‘Best run club in the world’: Manchester City fans and the legitimation of sportswashing? – November 2023
TOHIF’s paper on Manchester City fans and sportswashing, recently published in The International Review for Sociology of Sport, has been the subject of much media attention. Dr Gary Sinclair discussed the paper on BBC World Service and Second Captains, while Dr Colm Kearns appeared on Newstalk FM’s The Pat Kenny Show. Colm, Gary and Dr Jack Black also wrote an article on the paper for RTÉ Brainstorm.
TOHIF Football Supporters Survey
TOHIF is seeking the views of football supporters on online abuse, fan activism and the general experience of following the game online. Taking part in this survey will help ensure the voices of fans are heard when it comes to devising solutions to the problem of online abuse in football.
The survey takes 10 or so minutes to complete and can be found here.
Sport & Society Conference – June 2023
Dr Jack Black presented a paper on online conspiracy theories during UEFA Euro 2020 at the Fourteenth International Conference on Sport & Society in the University of Nevada. The conference brings together emerging scholars and established leaders in the field of sports studies. Jack’s paper drew on TOHIF’s data collection to illustrate the spread of racist discourse in resistance to the ‘Take a Knee’ gesture.
TOHIF in Brazil
TOHIF’s Professor Theo Lynn recently travelled to Brazil where he discussed the project with researchers from universities across the country. Theo delivered a workshop on social media big data research using large language models (such as TOHIF) at UPE in Caruaru, Pernambuco. Additionally, he discussed the possibility of expanding TOHIF’s analysis to Portuguese-language material using natural language processing (NLP) projects using machine learning and deep learning (ML/DL).
Fantasy-Reality Continuum Conference – December 2022
Dr Katie Liston presented some of the TOHIF project’s findings at the University of Warsaw’s Fantasy-Reality Continuum conference. The conference was organised by the Norbert Elias foundation to showcase work which builds on the renowned scholar’s sociological theory of knowledge and the sciences. Katie’s paper drew on Elias’ work on technization and civilisation to make observations about online hate in football on Twitter.
Off the Ball, Newstalk Radio
Dr Colm Kearns speaks to Off the Ball hosts, Ger Gilroy and Eoin Sheehan about the TOHIF project and the ever evolving issue of online hate in football. This was initially broadcast of 17 August 2022.
The Include Summit 2022
A brief clip from the Include Summit in which Dr Daniel Kilvington outlines how online hate impacts on journalists covering sport. The Include Summit is the UK’s No.1 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Summit For Sport and was held on 8-9 March 2022.
Beckett Talks Podcast
TOHIF members, Dr Thomas Fletcher & Dr Daniel Kilvington discuss the project with Professor Leanne Norman (Director of the Research Centre for Social Justice in Sport and Society, Leeds Beckett University), outlining how work of this scale is needed to tackle the issue of online hate in football.
RTE Brainstorm
TOHIF member, Dr Gary Sinclair succinctly outlines the ongoing issue of online hate in football in the wake of the UEFA Euro 2020 final. Dr Sinclair discusses the scale of the issue and explains why focusing on football acts as a uniquely insightful lens through which to explore and address the problem of online hate.
Sport & Human Rights Conference 2022
Dr Katie Liston discusses how her experience as an Irish athlete has informed her approach to the TOHIF project. She discusses the variety of impacts of online hate in sport, before outlining the findings and limitations of existing research conducted into the area.
TACKLING ONLINE HATE IN FOOTBALL
TOHIF was funded by UKRI-AHRC and the Irish Research Council under the ‘UK-Ireland Collaboration in the Digital Humanities Research Grants Call’ (grant numbers: AH/W001624/1 and IRC/W001624/1).
Site by Syro Digital NI