Swimming Aus takes action against social media scourge that's targeted Mollie, Kyle
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Swimming Australia has introduced a resource in a bid to combat fabricated social media posts seeking to tarnish a host of its stars, including Mollie O’Callaghan and Kyle Chalmers.
The governing body revealed in a statement on Thursday that it had created a page on its website called Flickbait, designated to identifying fake social media posts it denounces with red crosses.
Mollie O’Callaghan. Getty
Some of the posts targeting O’Callaghan and Chalmers have fabricated comments that are anti-transgender.
The bulk of the posts are AI-generated, and most appear on Facebook, which is owned by Meta Platforms.
The posts haven’t only targeted Australian swimmers, but stars of the NRL and AFL.
Linley Frame, Swimming Australia’s wellbeing and engagement manager, said many of the posts had caused “great distress”.
“We will continue to work hard to close down these posts with the relevant bodies but rather than sit back and see these posts liked, shared and commented on, we thought it was our responsibility to be proactive and denounce the content as Flickbait,” Frame said.
“We will continue to address this challenge to counter misinformation – and disinformation – and we hope this resource proves an additional valuable tool in safeguarding our athletes and our community.
“We will do what we can to address fake news and this is not to say that posts we haven’t addressed are accurate.”
Swimming Australia has made the move on the eve of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, beginning on July 23.
Kyle Chalmers. Getty
The federation has been working with the eSafety Commissioner, Meta and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, but felt compelled to do more because it was continuing to receive reports from athletes and family members about fake content.
“It’s a scary thing,” O’Callaghan said.
“You don’t want people impersonating you and making statements that aren’t true.
“I had to remind everyone to check their sources, and Flickbait is a great first step for the public – and media – to rule out the fakes.
“I hope other sports follow suit.”