Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are on Twitter and within that, there's 'Football Twitter' - the sizeable cohort of users who support their clubs fiercely, who comment on the latest news and gossip constantly, and who interact with just about anything to do with the game.
'Football Twitter' (or 'FT') has also become notorious for anti-LGBTQ+ abuse and discrimination. As the platform continues to grow in toxicity and reach, it appears to be an increasingly unpleasant place to hang out for anyone who loves football but doesn't fit the 'FT mould'.
On this episode of the FvH Podcast, we're joined by broadcaster and Arsenal YouTuber Sophie Nicolaou - aka @soccerdiva - and journalist and researcher Finbarr Toesland.
Sophie tells us about her own experiences of harassment and abuse from a noisy 'FT' minority - but she also explains how she's still able to find her tribe on Twitter.
Finbarr discusses the new report he's authored exploring how LGBTQ+ journalists - including football content creators - are being targeted on social media, and his recommendations to media organisations and brands. He feels they need to understand how and why abuse happens and the effect it has on individuals.
This episode, hosted and produced by Sports Media LGBT+'s Jon Holmes, is being released to coincide with the global awareness day IDAHOBIT (the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia) on May 17, and Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK.
Show your support for FvH! Activate the campaign in your football space - just head to footballvhomophobia.com for info, downloads and resources, and how to contact the FvH team.
Links
Sophie Nicolaou on Twitter - https://twitter.com/soccerdiva
Finbarr Toesland on Twitter - https://twitter.com/FinbarrToesland
Read Finn's report: 'Are media organisations adequately protecting LGBTQ journalists from harassment and abuse?' - https://www.bcu.ac.uk/media/research/sir-lenny-henry-centre-for-media-diversity/research
IDAHOBIT - https://may17.org
Mental Health Awareness Week - https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week
Thank you for listening - please subscribe, rate, review and share on socials. We're at @FvHtweets on Twitter; @football_v_homophobia on Instagram; and you can like us on Facebook too.
Music
Me & You by MusicbyAden | https://soundcloud.com/musicbyaden
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported