Following his victory in the British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was subjected to racist abuse online, with Facebook announcing on Monday that it has removed a number of comments on Instagram.
After fighting back from a 10-second penalty for a first-lap incident that sent title challenger Max Verstappen to the hospital, the seven-time world champion celebrated a record eighth British Grand Prix victory on Sunday at Silverstone.
Racist remarks, including monkey emojis, were posted as replies to a post on Instagram by Hamilton’s Mercedes team just hours after the triumph.
“We’ve removed a number of comments from Instagram as a result of the racial abuse aimed at Hamilton during and after the British Grand Prix,” a spokeswoman for Facebook, which owns Instagram, said in a statement.
“In addition to our work to remove comments and accounts that repeatedly break our rules, there are safety features available, including comment filters and message controls, which can mean no one has to see this type of abuse.
“No single thing will fix this challenge overnight but we’re committed to the work to keep our community safe from abuse.”
Mercedes, Formula One, and the International Automobile Federation (FIA) issued a unified statement condemning the mistreatment of Hamilton and demanding that those responsible be punished.
“These people have no place in our sport,” the statement said, “and we ask that those responsible be held accountable for their acts.”
“Formula One, the FIA, the drivers, and the teams are all working to make the sport more diverse and inclusive, and such incidents of online abuse must be recognized and eradicated.”
Hamilton has been a prominent supporter of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement and a vocal advocate for social justice.
Before the race, he said he was motivated by England soccer players’ response to racial insults following their penalty shootout loss to Italy in the European Championship final.
Last week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with social media companies to push them to step up their efforts to combat online abuse.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.