Report Says X Algorithms Amplified Racist Abuse of England Players at World Cup

Algorithms on X amplified racist abuse directed at England players during the 2026 World Cup, according to new research from the campaign group Hope Not Hate. BBC Sport reported that the organization analysed more than 300,000 posts published during the tournament and identified more than 5,500 explicitly racist posts targeting members of the England squad.

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Hope Not Hate argues that X's recommendation system placed toxic posts in front of millions of users because inflammatory material can attract replies and other engagement. The group says that increased interaction can keep users on the platform longer and support advertising revenue. That conclusion is the researchers' assessment; BBC Sport said X had been approached for comment, but its report did not include a response from the company.

The research identified Jude Bellingham as the England player who received the most racist abuse. Bukayo Saka and Kobbie Mainoo had the highest proportion of racist content among posts that mentioned them, according to the group. Hope Not Hate also reported a separate pattern of anti-Muslim abuse directed at Djed Spence, who has converted to Islam in recent years.

Researchers gathered posts that mentioned England players by name or X account, along with replies to player and team accounts and posts using England-related terms. Irrelevant items were removed. The group then used artificial intelligence, trained on examples labelled by people, to classify the material. Samples were manually checked, and posts were recorded as abusive or not abusive rather than ranked by severity.

The Football Association told BBC Sport that players should be able to compete without being exposed to hateful, discriminatory or distressing online material. It called on service providers to take the steps needed to make online activity safer. Ofcom, the United Kingdom's media regulator, said it was pressing technology companies to improve safety and would hold them accountable if they failed to do so. It also pointed to a partnership with police and football authorities established before the World Cup.

Hope Not Hate said blocking accounts, reporting posts and suspending users act only after abuse has already been viewed and do not address algorithmic distribution. It proposed rapidly reducing the visibility of posts attracting large amounts of abuse and asked Ofcom to treat major sporting events as high-risk periods. The group wants platforms required to use stronger preventative measures when predictable surges in online hate occur.