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Using Social Network Analysis to Study Hate Speech in English Football During the White Lives Matter Banner Controversy
Kilvington, Daniel Ahmed, Wasim Fenton, Alex Webster, Christopher
Kilvington, Daniel
Ahmed, Wasim
Fenton, Alex
Webster, Christopher
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2026-03-26
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Adobe PDF, 699.96 KB
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Abstract
In June 2020, a group of football supporters from Burnley FC arranged for a 'White Lives Matter' banner to be flown over Manchester City's Etihad Stadium in protest against the English Premier League's (EPL) decision to support the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Utilising a mixed methods Social Network Analysis (SNA) approach, we identified opinion leaders on X (formerly Twitter) to assess their influence in shaping the discussions and narrative. Systemic Racism Theory (SRT) was used to theoretically underpin the findings. In turn, we found that many users were critical of BLM and offered perspectives within a White supremacist frame; however, others supported football's anti-racist endeavours. We found that some users hijacked the incident to help fuel far-right agendas, demonstrating that football fans are being targeted online. Our study highlights the differences between individual and organised racism and illustrates that far-right and White supremacist groups use football to fuel racist rhetoric and potentially radicalise fans. The study emphasises the cruciality of understanding digital influence networks, information dissemination, and the role of opinion leaders in shaping online narratives in contexts that intersect sports, politics, and societal issues.
Citation
Kilvington, D., Ahmed, W., Fenton, A., & Webster, C. (2026). Using Social Network Analysis to Study Hate Speech in English Football During the White Lives Matter Banner Controversy. IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, vol(issue), pages. DOI
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SAGE Publications
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IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review
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Article
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This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a published work that appeared in final form in IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1177/22779752261.431396
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ISSN
2277-9752
EISSN
2321-029X