KOCHI: While social media brings fans close to sportspersons, it has also become a medium for some to bully, abuse and attack players. The recent incident wherein players of Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters were subjected to cyber abusing for their performances, highlights this fact.In such circumstances, it comes as a breath of fresh air that a group of football fans have come forward with an initiative to stop cyber abuse. The Manjappada Kerala Blasters fans is a fan group of the Blasters with a massive following and membership.
The group has followers who can be counted in lakhs on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other platforms and they recently launched a campaign with the hashtag #StopCyberAbuse.The members of the various wings of the group across the state and country took oaths to end cyber-bullying and videos of it were shared online. They have been posting positive messages and are trying to rebuild the image of the club and its players.
A major episode of cyber abuse occurred back in February when Blasters player CK Vineeth filed a police complaint against Manjappada stating that some section of the group was abusing him.The matter tapered down over the course of time and Manjappada group has tried to clear their name and are now endorsing the slogan - 'Be a critic, not a bully'. "We recently had a meeting of all our wings globally and we all are in agreement that cyber abuse is unacceptable.
During every meeting of our various wings, we are making the members take the oath and we are trying to create awareness among them. They will go and talk about it with two others and hopefully, the message spreads," Manu Pratap who handles the social media of the group said.Vineeth himself commended Manjappada for the initiative. He tweeted: "Well done, @kbfc_manjappada! Much needed. This is what we have been saying for all these years. #StopCyberAbuse".
For a group like Manjappada which has a wide reach, moderating their online content can be an arduous task.A team of four, including Manu, shoulder the responsibility of running the fan club's online activities.
"There are around 35,000 members and from that, if one person comments negatively, it spreads everywhere very quickly. Unfortunately, positive messages get overshadowed because of this. Some of the abusers may not even be from our group and they just tag us and it is seen by everyone. And we have to deal with that. Some of the players understand this situation but others get affected by it. Sometimes it is also a matter of perception," Manu said.
For a club that has wings in all the 14 districts in Kerala, other states in India, Gulf countries and even places like Canada, this campaign could have far-reaching effects. "This campaign will certainly continue and we are trying to add the hashtag of #StopCyberAbuse into as many posts as we can," Manu said.