The report says the service, known as the SMPS, moderated more than 53 million posts and comments across social media platforms during the tournament. Within that total, more than 200,000 were classified as abusive or threatening, compared with 19,600 at the previous World Cup.
That rise is too large to treat online abuse as background noise. It places digital protection alongside stadium security, medical planning and broadcast operations as a core tournament responsibility.
The numbers also reflect the pressure placed on players, coaches and officials, whose public exposure now extends far beyond matchday. A poor performance can trigger thousands of reactions within minutes, while targeted abuse can follow an individual throughout the competition.
The report says more than 15,000 posts were escalated for additional action, with over 1,000 egregious threats referred to law enforcement or other relevant authorities. That distinction matters. Deleting abusive content limits its reach; referring a serious threat begins a separate process focused on potential real-world harm.
Artificial intelligence reportedly detected more than 530,000 messages aimed at specific individuals before they were assessed by the SMPS team. The scale underlines the need for technology to identify patterns, but also for human review to judge context and seriousness.
The next storyline will be whether tournament organisers can make these systems faster, more transparent and more consistent. Removal totals measure the size of the problem, but response times, follow-up action and support for targeted individuals will determine whether digital protection becomes a genuine safeguard rather than a post-match clean-up operation.