A number of England players were a target for racist abuse
Racist abuse aimed at England footballers on social media was amplified during the World Cup by algorithms designed to maximise engagement and profit, according to new research.
The activist group Hope Not Hate analysed more than 300,000 posts on the platform X (formerly Twitter) during the 2026 World Cup and found more than 5,500 explicitly racist posts targeting England players.
The organisation argues that X's recommender algorithm pushed toxic content into millions of feeds, because posts which provoke anger and outrage can generate more interaction.
Posts generating strong reactions keep people on the platform for longer and can ultimately help drive advertising revenue.