What makes another person approach another person with rude, personal messages? Or even send a threatening text – even death threats?
It has recently had to be considered again in Finnish sports.
Sports director of Ilves, the ice hockey championship league team Timo Koskela said over the weekend that the club has filed a criminal complaint because the Ilves player had received a death threat, which also concerned the player’s family.
‘s NHL reporter Tommi Seppälä wrote how the death threat in question was only the tip of the iceberg, and unfortunately the general lack of manners is not limited to the rink.
Read more: Comment: Death threats to Ilves players are only the tip of the iceberg – control of the puck stands disappeared a long time ago
A TPS attacker who often gets under the opponents’ skin with his style of play Markus Nurmi decided in the fall to share what kind of abuse he has had to receive:
“Kill yourself”
“Moro gay, keep your head up, you’re going to get beaten up”
“You are such an arrogant piece of shit! Die away!”
Sports director of HJK Vesa Mäki came under fierce criticism because of the club’s head coach’s jacket. At HJK’s media conference, Mäki stated that he is in a workplace where pressure and criticism are part of it. But then he made a startling revelation:
– What bothers me the most is that as a result I have received hate mail and threats. It has even disrupted my family’s life.
Swimmer Ida Hulkko told last spring Ilta-Sanomhow he had become the target of a flood of hate messages after posting a humorous video in a swimsuit on Instagram.
In the feedback received by Hulko, there has been abuse and it has been reported that he denigrates women’s sports and promotes rape culture.
Finnish top judge Mohammad Al-Emara recently opened up to about the change in attitude seen in football.
– The kind of hate speech referees face online is quite shocking. It wouldn’t even occur to me to create an Instagram account. I’m not interested in getting death threats after every match.
The examples would be endless.
Hateful and threatening messages are not limited to social media. They are not limited to certain species or nationalities. Players, sports bosses, coaches, referees and fans are the target of them.
The phenomenon is certainly not new. However, it has escalated and has recently resurfaced strongly in Finland as well.
There are at least two big reasons for the expansion of the sad phenomenon
Docent of communication at the University of Helsinki Janne Matikainen is familiar with, among other things, digital media.
He says that in sports, especially in team sports, there has always been a strong us versus you attitude. The identification of fans with their team is strong.
The use of language in sports stands has been foul for ages. That also shows that the phenomenon is not new.
– It can be thought that the general social discussion climate has changed. It may be that the change is emphasized too much in public, but it is clear that it has changed, Matikainen begins.
– Surely it spills over into watching sports as well. Commenting and language use will become more aggressive and cutting-edge.
In the past, abuses were shouted on the sidelines, but nowadays they are documented through social media. Depending on the channel used, hate messages can also end up visible to everyone. Thanks to Some, senders of rude messages have the opportunity to target their messages to people they would otherwise not reach.
Another big reason for the escalation of the phenomenon can be found in the opportunities offered by social media. Hate speech can be published behind pseudonyms.
– This is one clear feature related to the communication environment and medium. That too has been known since the 1970s, when the first e-mails arrived. Even then, aggressive speech was noticeable.
– Especially if you are anonymous, it gives you such protection that you say things differently than you would say face to face.
In this regard, the researchers have also experienced a surprise, because previously it was thought that the phenomenon is mainly related to anonymity.
– We use our own name on social media a lot, but we may still be aggressive towards others. It seems to be generally related to the medium of not meeting face to face.
Matikainen therefore bundles the escalation of the phenomenon into two big themes. The second is related to the medium and the communication environment. The second is based on the social atmosphere, which seems to favor even more aggressive communication.
Most of the time, hate and threatening messages come via, for example, public social media channels. Instead, for example, HJK’s Vesa Mäki said that she received messages threatening her physical integrity in her personal channels, e-mail and WhatsApp.
There is a difference in that too.
– At least I would feel that it is a much more personal message when it comes to WhatsApp. Although the sender may only think that now the person will at least read the message, Matikainen reflects.
– In public arenas, people write all kinds of things. Athletes have certainly had to get used to and tolerate – they shouldn’t have to – that there is a lot of writing about them, but when it comes out as a personal message, of course it’s much more threatening.
What can be done about this?
For example, in the case of Tampere Ilves, the head coach Antti Pennanen and sports director Timo Koskela stated that the death threat “totally crossed the line”. The executive director of the Players’ Association agreed Risto Kauppinen.
Matikainen states that threatening messages must definitely be reported.
– That is completely inappropriate behavior and against the norms of society. This should not be tolerated or overlooked. It can be thought that it also acts as a preventive measure, when the senders know that not everything can be communicated.
That is a very big question, what could be done for the general discussion culture. Matikainen says that probably every country in the world is struggling with this issue, since social media has further exacerbated the phenomenon.
– Politics has become more sophisticated. Such very unpleasant and aggressive speech has become more of a norm. This is a really broad phenomenon and we are talking about many different factors.
– Social platforms should be monitored and regulated even more. There is also talk that there should be more media education of some kind, but even that has limited possibilities, because it still exists today.
Regarding media education, it is often thought that schools should do something about it.
– But there are quite a lot of adults running amok on social media, so how do we adults get to change our ways. I don’t really have an answer to that, Matikainen smiles.
The responsibility of social platforms?
When England lost to Italy in the European Championship final in 2021, the social channels of the players who failed in penalty kicks were filled with creepy content.
The laundry took a long time to wash. Prime minister Boris Johnson took a stand, the police started an investigation, social media giants were questioned about their responsibility, and a British researcher opened up to about the structural racism of his society.
You often hear the question, what is the responsibility of giant social media companies. Would they have any chance of eradicating the rampant problem?
– It would be, specifically they would have a lot of opportunities, but they have shirked that responsibility quite well, Matikainen answers.
Measures have been taken within the EU to hold social media companies accountable and stop the escalation of the phenomenon. Still, the playing field is wild.
– You can move around quite freely there. It’s not like that in other parts of society, because there are certain laws and norms. Yes, there would be a lot to fix.
– Just increasing the media skills of individuals cannot solve societal problems. Of course, media skills are important, but too much responsibility is placed on individuals.
However, the social giants are not eager to control their channels. For example, the threshold for removing users who promote hate speech is very high.
– When their business logic is based on users producing content. It is not in their interests to clean services. Of course, that would also require resources. It would be hugely expensive when you think about how much content is produced there every moment. There are various artificial intelligence applications, but they still work a little poorly.
Incitement against a national group is one of the most controversial sections of the Finnish Criminal Code. But where is the line between racist hate speech and freedom of speech? And is the law effective? These issues were covered in ‘s Uutispodcast last fall.