Latest news with #onlineabuse
Irish Times
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Joe Schmidt confirms Australia's Carlo Tizzano received online abuse after second Lions Test
Joe Schmidt has confirmed that Carlo Tizzano, the Australia flanker cleared out by Jac Morgan in the much-disputed final ruck of the game last Saturday when the Lions completed their biggest never comeback in a Test to win 29-23 at the MCG, has been the victim of online abuse. 'He's had a really tough week, Carlo,' Schmidt said of the flanker, whom many felt had exaggerated the impact of Morgan' clearout. 'He's copped a lot of online abuse, and the only thing I'd say in defence of Carlo is that just over 54Gs of direct force went through his neck, along with almost 2,200 revs of rotational force, which is enough to cause serious injury. Not to a rugby player who's as well conditioned as Carlo, but he's probably best just left to take a deep breath. 'I think we're all aware of Newton's third law, that for every action there's and equal and opposite reaction,' added Schmidt, as only he can. 'When that force hits him and the speed of his head collapsing down, he recoiled out the back of the ruck. I don't think he wanted to recoil like that, but that's the nature of the force, there's an equal and opposite reaction. 'For Carlo, it's better that he sits this one out,' said Schmidt, although he concurred that Tizzano did not suffer concussion despite being replaced in the Australian matchday squad on the bench by Zane Nonggorr. READ MORE 'We weren't sure about him on Tuesday. He was still pretty sore. He was great today, he was right back to the irrepressible character that he is. 'I've advised Carlo to stay away from the media full stop and the opinions that are out there. We've tried to deal with the facts, and what forces occurred and to let him know that we know what caused the equal and opposite reaction, and we have faith in him, and that will continue.' In the fallout from last Saturday's second Test a seething Schmidt implied the decision not to penalise Morgan 'doesn't really live up to the big player safety push that they [World Rugby] are talking about' and while he didn't row back from that remark, he struck a more conciliatory tone toward the match officials. 'I actually feel like Andre Piardi had a good game. There's a couple of decisions we not agree with, but I thought he refereed well. We're not looking at refereeing decisions.' Taniela Tupou will start at tighthead for Australia in the third Test against the Lions in Sydney. Photograph:Taniela Tupou will play his first Test of the year in next Saturday's third Test in Sydney's Stadium Australia after Schmidt called up the Racing-bound, 29-year-old tighthead in place of the injured Alan Alaalatoa. The 59-Test prop is one of four changes to the Wallabies' starting side, with Exeter-bound loose-forward Tom Hooper also replacing the injured Rob Valetini. Nic White is named ahead of Jake Gordon, who misses out on the matchday squad altogether despite a strong, try-scoring 80-minute performance, in what will be the 35-year-old's final Test. The other change sees Dylan Pietsch, who shone for the Western Force against the Lions in their tour opener five weeks ago, replace the hamstrung Harry Potter. Schmidt has also reverted to a traditional 5-3 after last weekend's 6-2 split backfired somewhat after the 20th minute loss of Potter meant replacement scrumhalf Tate McDermott played an hour on the wing. Outside back Andrew Kellaway returns to the matchday squad. Fully four days on from losing the second Test and the series, Schmidt still looked more than a little saddened by the loss, and scarcely disguised how difficult he and his squad found the fallout. 'It's an incredibly deflated group. Tuesday was tough actually to get them up off the canvas and today there was a little bit of an upswing. We've just got to keep that momentum. Hopefully they can be sharp at the captain's run tomorrow and then springboard their way into the Test match.' 'It is a challenge because all that emotional and psychological energy that was expended, the way things finished, the sense of frustration. It's almost like a grieving process by the time they've gone through those first few days. Giving them time to breathe a bit and then try to elevate the spirits and the tempo.' AUSTRALIA: Tom Wright; Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Len Ikitau, Dylan Pietsch; Tom Lynagh, Nic White; James Slipper, Dave Porecki, Taniela Tupou; Nick Frost, Will Skelton; Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (capt). Replacements: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson, Andrew Kellaway.
BBC News
21 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'Tizzano has copped a lot of abuse'
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt says flanker Carlo Tizzano has been the target of online abuse following the controversial clear-out which decided the series in Melbourne.''He's had a really tough week," said Schmidt. "He's copped a lot of online abuse. We've advised Carlo to stay away from the media full stop and the opinions that are out there because we've tried to just deal in the facts. Tizzano had been accused of diving in the aftermath of the Jac Morgan clear-out, with ex-players such as James Haskell and Sam Warburton criticising that sort of behaviour in rugby. But Schmidt dismissed the claims.''We're all aware of Newton's third law. For every action there's an opposite reaction. When that force hits him and the speed of his head is collapsing down, he recoiled out of the back of the ruck. I don't think he wanted to recoil like that but it's the nature of force.''Despite being fit to be selected and not suffering concussion, Tizzano has been left out of the team for the third Test in Sydney. ''There were just over 54 G's of force, direct force that went through the neck, along with almost 2200 rads [radians] of rotational force, which is enough to cause a serious injury, not to a rugby player who's as well conditioned as Carlo, but he's probably best just left to take a deep breath and sit this one out," said confirmed any findings of the review conducted by World Rugby would remain private.
The Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Joe Schmidt hits out at ‘online abuse' of Carlo Tizzano as Wallabies flanker stood down after Jac Morgan incident
Australia head coach Joe Schmidt has hit out at the 'online abuse' of Carlo Tizzano that followed the flanker's involvement in a contentious incident at the end of the second British and Irish Lions Test. Tizzano was cleared out in a controversial fashion by Jac Morgan in the lead-up to Hugo Keenan's match-winning try in Melbourne, with the officials concluding that there had been no foul play from the Welshman after an extended review of the footage. The 25-year-old Wallabies back row was subsequently accused of simulation by some, with a suggestion that that he had made more of an incident than it merited. Issuing a staunch defence of his player, Schmidt however revealed that the force registered by Tizzano's instrumented mouthguard indicated that he could have suffered injury in the collision, with contact made to the top of his back or back of his neck. Though he was fit to feature and did not suffer a concussion, Tizzano has been left out of the Wallabies' squad for the third Test in Sydney as Schmidt takes care of the player. 'He's had a really tough week,' Schmidt explained. 'He's copped a lot of online abuse. The only thing I'd say in defence of Carlo is that there were just over 54 Gs of force that went directly through the neck, which is enough to cause serious injury - not to a rugby player who is as well conditioned as Carlo. He's probably best left to take a deep breath. 'I think we are all aware of Newton's third law: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When that force hits him, and the speed of his head collapsing down, he recoiled out the back of the ruck. I don't think he wanted to recoil like that, but that's the nature of fore. There is an equal and opposite reaction. For Carlo, it's better that he sits this one out.' Tizzano's absence sees Schmidt revert to a five forwards to three backs bench split, with Langi Gleeson providing back row cover and Tom Hooper replacing Rob Valetini in the starting side. The debate over the decisive incident has raged since the conclusion of the second Test - World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin criticised comments made by Schmidt in the immediacy of Australia's defeat. The Wallabies boss praised referee Andrea Piardi on Thursday, suggesting he felt the Italian had a good game, despite his disagreement over the Morgan decision. The matter of online abuse on social media has been raised previously on this tour, with Lions fly half Owen Farrell describing both positive and negative commentary as 'poison'. Schmidt has told Tizzano, normally an active social media user, to avoid any of the commentary surrounding him. 'We weren't sure about him on Tuesday,' Schmidt said. 'He was still pretty sore. He was great today. He was right back to the irrepressible character he is. 'It's more come from other players. I've advised Carlo to stay away from the media full stop, and the opinions that are out there. We've tried to just deal in the facts, the facts of what is law and what forces occur, and to let him know that we know what caused the equal and opposite reaction. We have faith in him and that will continue.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Warwick councillor deactivated social media after online abuse
A councillor who deactivated her social media accounts after receiving hate messages has said women's voices are being silenced by Davidson posted her first video online after a one-year hiatus and has again received hundreds of negative and sexist Warwick district councillor said in the past she had received misogynistic comments - including being told to "go back into the kitchen" as well as inappropriate references to her body parts. She told the BBC: "It's done purposefully, to belittle me, to make me feel embarrassed, make me not want to speak up again because they're trying to quieten my voice." The Green Party councillor said she made the decision to deactivate her social media after she received abuse last year. "I thought I don't need to be online, it doesn't matter - but why do women need to come off to protect themselves?"They're losing their voice online and that's not fair."Davidson said she first tried to turn off the comments - but realised it meant people that supported her would not be able to interact with her. She said: "I did my first video, updating people on a local political situation and I was expressing my views and feelings about it."Then came hundreds of comments on my appearance, a lot of name calling, referring to parts of body, what I was wearing - calling me a woman of the night. "It was just removing the attention from the issue I was talking about and making it about my body and what I was wearing." Davidson said she called out people leaving negative comments on her TikTok and Instagram, by telling them their posts were inappropriate and said: "I thought what they're doing is not OK, and I will not be silenced."Speaking on negative comments she had received about her dress sense, she added: "I always said once I got elected I'm going to wear what I've always worn. "Because I'm not a career politician - I am a local resident who cares about her community."It's OK to have a debate, but hatred comes from a fear of not understanding. "If you feel this way about women and feel they don't belong in public, politics, football - why?"What is it that you're threatened by women taking up space?" Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Verge
6 days ago
- The Verge
Facebook ranks worst for online harassment, according to a global activist survey
Activists around the world are calling attention to harassment they've faced on Meta's platforms. More than 90 percent of land and environmental defenders surveyed by Global Witness, a nonprofit organization that also tracks the murders of environmental advocates, reported experiencing some kind of online abuse or harassment connected to their work. Facebook was the most-cited platform, followed by X, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Global Witness and many of the activists it surveyed are calling on Meta and its peers to do more to address harassment and misinformation on their platforms. Left to fester, they fear that online attacks could fuel real-world risks to activists. Around 75 percent of people surveyed said they believed that online abuse they experienced corresponded to offline harm. 'Those stats really stayed with me. They were so much higher than we expected them to be,' Ava Lee, campaign strategy lead on digital threats at Global Witness, tells The Verge. That's despite expecting a gloomy outcome based on prior anecdotal accounts. 'It has kind of long been known that the experience of climate activists and environmental defenders online is pretty awful,' Lee says. Left to fester, they fear that online attacks could fuel real-world risks Global Witness surveyed more than 200 people between November 2024 and March of this year that it was able to reach through the same networks it taps when documenting the killings of land and environmental defenders. It found Meta-owned platforms to be 'the most toxic.' Around 62 percent of participants said they encountered abuse on Facebook, 36 percent on WhatsApp, and 26 percent on Instagram. That probably reflects how popular Meta's platforms are around the world. Facebook has more than 3 billion active monthly users, more than a third of the global population. But Meta also abandoned its third-party fact-checking program in January, which critics warned could lead to more hate speech and disinformation. Meta moved to a crowdsourced approach to content moderation similar to X, where 37 percent of survey participants reported experiencing abuse. In May, Meta reported a 'small increase in the prevalence of bullying and harassment content' on Facebook as well as 'a small increase in the prevalence of violent and graphic content' during the first quarter of 2025. 'That's sort of the irony as well, of them moving towards this kind of free speech model, which actually we're seeing that it's silencing certain voices,' says Hannah Sharpe, a senior campaigner at Global Witness. Fatrisia Ain leads a local collective of women in Sulawesi, Indonesia, where she says palm oil companies have seized farmers' lands and contaminated a river local villagers used to be able to rely on for drinking water. Posts on Facebook have accused her of being a communist, a dangerous allegation in her country, she tells The Verge. The practice of 'red-tagging' — labeling any dissident voices as communists — has been used to target and criminalize activists in Southeast Asia. In one high-profile case, a prominent environmental activist in Indonesia was jailed under 'anti-communism' laws after opposing a new gold mine. Ain says she's asked Facebook to take down several posts attacking her, without success. 'They said it's not dangerous, so they can't take it down. It is dangerous. I hope that Meta would understand, in Indonesia, it's dangerous,' Ain says. Other posts have accused Ain of trying to defraud farmers and of having an affair with a married man, which she sees as attempts to discredit her that could wind up exposing her to more threats in the real world — which has already been hostile to her activism. 'Women who are being the defenders for my own community are more vulnerable than men … more people harass you with so many things,' she says. Nearly two-thirds of people who responded to the Global Witness survey said that they have feared for their safety, including Ain. She's been physically targeted at protests against palm oil companies accused of failing to pay farmers, she tells The Verge. During a protest outside of a government office, men grabbed her butt and chest, she says. Now, when she leads protests, older women activists surround her to protect her as a security measure. In the Global Witness survey, nearly a quarter of respondents said they'd been attacked on the basis of their sex. 'There's evidence of the way that women and women of color in particular in politics experience just vast amounts more hate than any other group,' Lee says. 'Again, we're seeing that play out when it comes to defenders … and the threats of sexual violence, and the impact that that is having on the mental health of lots of these defenders and their ability to feel safe.' 'We encourage people to use tools available on our platforms to help protect against bullying and harassment,' Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton said in an email to The Verge, adding that the company is reviewing Facebook posts that targeted Ain. Meta also pointed to its 'Hidden Words' feature that allows you to filter offensive direct messages and comments on your posts and its 'Limits' feature that hides comments on your posts from users that don't follow you. Other companies mentioned in the report, including Google, TikTok, and X, did not provide on-the-record responses to inquiries from The Verge. Nor did a palm oil company Ain says has been operating on local farmers' land without paying them, as they're supposed to do under a mandated profit-sharing scheme. Global Witness says there are concrete steps social media companies can take to address harassment on their platforms. That includes dedicating more resources to their content moderation systems, regularly reviewing these systems, and inviting public input on the process. Activists surveyed also reported that they think algorithms that boost polarizing content and the proliferation of bots on platforms make the problem worse. 'There are a number of choices that platforms could make,' Lee says. 'Resourcing is a choice, and they could be putting more money into really good content moderation and really good trust and safety [initiatives] to improve things.' Global Witness plans to put out its next report on the killings of land and environmental defenders in September. Its last such report found that at least 196 people were killed in 2023. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. 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