Announcement
Social Media Guidelines
BWF would like to share important information regarding social media security as well as appropriate social media etiquette and behaviour. Please pass this information onto players and team entourage.
Social Media – a very powerful tool
Firstly, social media is a very powerful tool. It can help organisations and players reach millions of fans, allows you to update fans quickly and efficiently, and builds profiles of players for the betterment of the sport. It’s also great for creating long- and short-term commercial opportunities. However, it can also fuel arguments, negativity and other dangers.
Therefore, it is important all athletes feel safe and secure while using such social media platforms. So, in view of recent events, BWF would like to highlight the importance for athletes in safeguarding their social media accounts; not only against hacking attempts or identity theft, but also harassment and online cyberbullying.
What should players do if they are a victim of harassment, abuse & bullying?
- All social media platforms have a zero tolerance of harassment, violence, abuse and bullying.
- It is perfectly fine to report unwanted or malicious content, comments or contact on your pages.
- All platforms have tools available to help you protect against it.
Facebook & Instagram
- Read the Facebook & Instagram Safety Guide for Athletes
- Read the Safety Tools for using Instagram
- Learn how to protect your account from unwanted interactions using the Instagram Restrict Function
- Read Twitter’s Rules and Policies
BWF equally does not tolerate harassment, violence, abuse and bullying on social media, including death threats aimed at players or officials, and will support all players or other personnel who are victims of such behaviour.
Please contact [email protected] and we will work with our partners to help you the best we can.
As a general rule, we encourage players not to get involved in arguments publicly on social media. This can escalate situations and make you vulnerable to attacks.
Contrary Conduct on Social Media
At the same time, BWF would like to remind players, team entourage and officials of the power and influence that players have on social media, and therefore the responsibility they have to also follow the rules and policies of social media platforms.
This is closely tied to the BWF Players’ Code of Conduct that states:
This also includes behaviour on social media and we encourage Member Associations to warn players and officials that any post or comment that may incite, encourage or result in fans responding with harassment, violence, abuse and acts of cyberbullying may be classified as “behaving in a manner severely damaging to the reputation of the sport”.
Security and Protection
In general, security and safety on social media is very important. BWF also wishes to remind everyone of some simple steps to prevent players’ accounts from being hacked and to protect your personal information.
- Read Twitter’s Safety and Security guidelines
Facebook & Instagram
