Premier League Footballers Team Up with Cybersmile to Highlight the Real-Life Consequences of Online Abuse on Stop Cyberbullying Day

Author: SCD Team
June 17, 2022

Premier League footballers Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Harry Maguire, Kasper Schmeichel, Ben Mee and Jermaine Jenas have joined together with leading online abuse charity, Cybersmile and creative agency Ten Toes to highlight the real-world implications of online abuse.

The campaign will see the individual footballers share an ‘edited selfie’ on their social media channels alongside a call to action to stop online abuse. The altered selfie depicts the individual with physical injuries overlaid, illustrating the real-life consequences of words shared online. As well as highlighting this message, the campaign aims to raise awareness about the importance of making the internet a safer place and to show that it’s everyone’s responsibility to do this. The campaign marks the first anniversary of the partnership between Ten Toes and Cybersmile, which was launched on Stop Cyberbullying Day 2021.

“EVERYBODY AT CYBERSMILE IS EXCITED TO BE WORKING ALONGSIDE TEN TOES AND SUCH HIGH-PROFILE PLAYERS TO DELIVER THE VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE CARRIED BY THIS CAMPAIGN. IT IS TOO EASY TO FORGET THAT WORDS COMMUNICATED ONLINE CAN HAVE THE SAME IMPACT AS WORDS COMMUNICATED OFFLINE.”

Scott Freeman, CEO, The Cybersmile Foundation

Stop Cyberbullying Day is an annual event that brings millions of people together on and offline to celebrate and promote a truly inclusive internet without fear of ridicule and abuse. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Stop Cyberbullying Day and features a number of initiatives taking place around the world.

“IT’S A REAL PLEASURE TO WORK ALONGSIDE CYBERSMILE ON THIS CAMPAIGN, WHICH SEES HOUSEHOLD NAMES IN FOOTBALL COME TOGETHER AND CALL OUT ONLINE ABUSE AND UNDERLINE THE WAY IT CAN AFFECT PEOPLE AWAY FROM THE INTERNET. THIS IS AN ISSUE WHICH CAN AFFECT ALL OF US AND IT’S ONE THAT HAS HUGE CONSEQUENCES IN THE REAL-WORLD, SO WE’RE VERY PROUD TO WORK WITH CYBERSMILE AND THESE PLAYERS TO HIGHLIGHT THIS.”

Josh Hershman, Managing Director, Ten Toes

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