Olympic Federation of Ireland & Sponsor Indeed Launch ‘Don’t Scroll By’ Stand Against Online Hate

On 23 February, the Olympic Federation of Ireland’s (OFI) Athlete’s Commission and sponsor Indeed launched a new campaign called ‘Don’t Scroll By’ which saw the brand, the national committee and Team Ireland athletes collectively take a stand against online hate speech.

The Team Ireland and recruitment sponsor initiative calls on the Irish public and sports fans and stakeholders across the country to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to online abuse, discrimination and hate speech and urges them all to #DeleteBanReport​ any of this type of commentary they witness online.

The initiative, developed in partnership with agency William Hartnell, is a strong and clear statement from Team Ireland that it believes there is no place at all for online abuse, discriminatory comments or hate speech on social media channels in Irish sport.

‘Don’t Scroll By’ was led by a hero spot rolled out socially across the governing body and the sponsor’s digital and social channels and uses the Olympic values of ‘striving for excellence and respect’ to highlight the power that people collectively have to eliminate hate speech from social media channels, to make online sport a hate-free zone.

The spearhead spot was supported by additional social content pieces by the team and the brand.

We're proud to support @TeamIreland in calling for zero tolerance to online hate speech.

Don't Scroll By when you say hate online. Call it out and #DeleteBanReport it.

Our strength comes from togetherness, make sport online a safe place for everyone. #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/jmzCFVi4xk

— Indeed (@IndeedIE) February 23, 2021

It also included a PR campaign which included sprinter Leon Reid and former Winter Olympian Shane O’Connor from the Athlete’s Commission interviewed throughout the mainstream and sports media to amplify the campaign and ask everyone involved across all Irish sport touchpoints to take action and make a public stance by showing that the country as a whole is anti-racist and opposed to any forms of discrimination and hate speech.

The initiative also sees the launch of a new practical OFI/Indeed booklet which acts as a guide and a support for social media managers to #DeleteBanReport any type of hate commentary they witness online.

I'm really proud to support #TeamIreland's ‘Don’t Scroll By’ campaign. @team_ireland_olympic

There is absolutely no place for online hate speech or abuse in sport.

We all need to stand together and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to this now. #DontScrollBy. #DeleteBanReport pic.twitter.com/7aJXlASopk

— Leon Reid. (@LeonReid_Woody) February 23, 2021

“Racism and xenophobia have no place in any profession,” said Conor Byrne, Marketing Director at Indeed. “Inclusion and Belonging are core values at Indeed, so we were delighted to partner with the OFI to create this booklet, which we hope will help people understand how to combat racism online.”

“We are extremely proud to launch ‘Don’t Scroll By’. Irish Olympic athletes have already overcome many hurdles and challenges to reach the top of their sport,” said Chair of the Olympic Federation of Ireland’s Athlete’s Commission O’Connor. “As role models, they are in the public eye, and their performances are under scrutiny. However, they should never be targeted based on their identity or cultural background.”

“Team Ireland athletes want to make a very strong statement that there is no place for online abuse, discriminatory comments or hate speech on social media channels,” he added. “We know that the majority of Ireland does not agree with the small minority, and we are calling on that majority to stand up and play a role in tackling online hate. Together, we can tackle it.”

The campaign is also backed by the Irish Government with the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin also present at the launch.

Ministers @cathmartingreen and @jackfchambers stand united with Irish athletes in their 'Don't Scroll By' campaign to tackle online abuse.

The sport initiative by @TeamIreland and @IndeedIE is sharing the message to #DeleteBanReport

Full details here: https://t.co/6jW96j836X pic.twitter.com/2OmC1lsmgl

— Tourism-Culture-Arts-Gaeltacht-Sport-Media (@DeptCulturelRL) February 23, 2021

“The ‘Don’t Scroll By’ campaign is an extremely important initiative for all of us involved in Irish sport and across the wider Irish society,” said Martin. “As a society, we must come together to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to online abuse and hate speech and ensure that this type of language and commentary is eradicated and dealt with. These athletes represent us on the national and world stages, and we are fully behind them to ensure that they can continue to strive for excellence. “It is up to all of us to ensure that these athletes are not targeted online – or through any medium – by abuse or hate speech. We must stand together on this and fully support these athletes and I will do my utmost to help ensure that this approach is one that is adopted across all areas in my remit.”

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Links:

Team Ireland

https://olympics.ie/

Indeed Ireland

https://ie.indeed.com/

William Hartnell

https://www.wilsonhartnell.ie/