Thierry Henry says he will return to social media only when “it is safe” after his accounts were removed amid an ongoing online storm of racial abuse on footballers.
The former Arsenal and Barcelona striker on Saturday disabled his Twitter and Instagram profile, one of the highest-profile victims of an increasingly toxic virtual arena.
The 43-year-old announced his decision to close his online presence on Friday and has reiterated for increased accountability.
What has Henry said?
Former France reported, “Recently it happened to me on social media, it happened on social media.” Good morning uk In reference to the misbehavior that has occurred to him in recent weeks. “But lately it’s been quite a lot, players are being abused. I think that’s just [social media] There is not a safe place in minutes.
“People are getting racially abused but, when you see the statement, I also talk about bullying, harassment that can cause mental issues, people commit suicide because of it.
“It’s very difficult to erase everything but can it be safe? We all know it’s a great tool but a lot of people are using it as a weapon. Why? Because they can hide behind fake accounts .
“I know that a small part of the world is using it as a weapon. Can it be safe?” This is all I am asking. I will come back to this, when it is safe. “
Legend calls for accountability
Henry, who stepped in as manager of the Montreal Impact in Major League Soccer last month, feels that the tech giants behind social media platforms aren’t doing enough to tackle racism and hate speeches on their sites.
He said, “Originally, I had enough as an answer at all times.” “Social media always says ‘we’re investigating this, we’re trying to do stuff to erase it’ but that’s enough because I’ve found that if you want to upload a video on social media, So they will block it, you can’t even send it.
“We all know that: because of copyright, because money is involved, so it’s different. Now for that they can build algorithms to make sure you don’t do that. They’ll stop you right there, they strongly Will do.
“I know that people can give me ‘freedom to speak’ and ‘use a word in different ways’, but listen, you can’t go to the cinema and shout whatever you want, you can scream whatever you want in the street ., You can’t shout whatever you want at the airport. You can’t cross the line. I want everyone to be accountable. We need to find out who those people are. “
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