Barcelona forward and Spanish international Lamine Yamal was the subject of 6 percent of all sports-related hate messages on social media in November, according to the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia, Oberaxe.
The watchdog recorded a total of 39,054 racist and xenophobic posts during the month, with social media platforms removing 51 percent of them.
Why was Lamine Yamal targeted online?
Yamal’s spike in online abuse came after he was withdrawn from Spain’s national team on November 11. The decision followed a radiofrequency procedure to treat discomfort in his groin area, which the Spanish Football Federation said it was unaware of. Following the announcement, social media posts comparing the Barcelona forward to animals flooded online platforms.
Oberaxe’s latest monthly monitoring report shows that the total number of racist and xenophobic messages tracked across social media reached 779,198, including November’s 39,054 posts.
How much hate content do social media platforms remove?
During November, 51 percent of hate content detected was removed by social media platforms, marking the highest removal rate of the year.
Removal rates vary significantly by platform. TikTok led with 79 percent of hate content removed, followed by X at 65 percent, Facebook at 59 percent, and YouTube at 28 percent. Instagram had the lowest removal rate, taking down just 25 percent of racist and xenophobic posts.