The tweets targeted footballers like Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka (Image: The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Twitter seems to do nothing about the racist statements against black football players during the ongoing World Cup.

With most of the content moderation staff laid off, Elon Musk’s Twitter is becoming a hotbed for hate speech, which is common at major sporting events.

A week before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, the social network published 99 tweets despite alleged racist content, according to a new study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).

Of the 100 tweets allegedly containing racist language against football players, Twitter has removed only one.

The tweets targeted football players such as Marcus Rashford, Gabriel Jesus, Douglas Luiz, Jadon Sancho, Richarlison, Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka.

Twitter seems to be doing nothing about racist slurs against black footballers during the ongoing World Cup (Image: Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)

The racist tweets were allowed to remain on the platform despite being reported to Twitter, and the accounts that posted them were also not blocked.

Some tweets featured the N-word, monkey or banana emoji and urged players to “return” to other countries. Other tweets mock the players’ use of English.

This could hint at what content moderation, or lack thereof, might look like under Twitter’s new boss. According to Musk’s plans, hate speech should not be removed, but made less visible.

Just before the start of the World Cup, Musk tweeted that the “new Twitter policy is free speech, not free range.”

“Negative/hate tweets are devalued and showcased to the max, so no ads or other revenue for Twitter,” he added.

So users won’t find the tweet unless they specifically search for it, a strategy Musk says is “no different than the rest of the tweet.” [the] internet’. However, it’s unclear what Musk considers “negative” or “hateful.”

“Super-spreaders of hate, abuse and harassment will be the only people who will benefit from this latest decision by Twitter,” CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed told Metro.co.uk, warning advertisers not to spend their money on the spread of hatred. . Abuse. and disinformation.

“The government must act quickly to ensure that minimum safeguards are in place to ensure that social media platforms no longer serve as sources of hate and lies that poison and divide our society,” said Ahmed.

The billionaire claims that hate speech on Twitter has declined since he took over the platform.

While many of the tweets in the report are said to have been posted in the final days leading up to the World Cup, some have been on the platform for months.

This is not the first time black footballers have faced racial abuse on the platform.

England players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka have been inundated with vile insults and monkey and banana emojis on social media after missing out on penalties in the Euro 2020 final.