Equi-pages.de disclosed that the FEI has mandated British tech company Signify to monitor and protect athletes and officials on social media with the software programme Threat Matrix.
Social Media Monitoring
Threat Matrix is a service that focuses on protecting public figures, employees, and brands from targeted online abuse and social media threats. It identifies and de-anonymizes perpetrators of online abuse using AI and human analysis by scanning platforms for harassment. Threat Matrix provides evidence-based reports for legal action and supports player/staff mental health.
The 2026 World Cup Finals in Fort Worth will serve as a test event for using Threat Matrix to protect its athletes and officials from online attacks.
Pilot Phase
Equi-Pages asked FEI secretary-general Sabrina Ibanez about this new development in its media management and communication strategy.
The idea for more protection was suggested by the International Show Jumping Riders Club (IJRC) and the International Dressage Club (IDRC)
“There was a certain amount of frustration, and some athletes were being targeted in social media posts in one way or another," Ibanez told Equi-Pages. "So we tried to figure out the best way to deal with it. And that's why I asked the team to look at what other international federations are doing. And Signify is a company that is actually helping. They used it for the athletes at the Paris Olympics. Last week, the team met with Signify, and we have now agreed that we will initially use it as a test, because we need to see how it develops, as they actually offer a whole range of features. And in this first pilot phase, we will monitor the channels for the show jumpers, dressage riders, and FEI officials present there.”
FEI Sports Forum - World Cup Finals
The FEI disclosed at the 2026 FEI Sports Forum in Lausanne at the end of March that it mandated Signify / Threat Matrix to monitor social media platforms including Q, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Youtube.
The proactive monitoring begins in the days leading up to and after the FEI world Cup Finals. It will include online abuse and threats directed at athletes and officials, as well as the FEI's official channels. The proof of concept will monitor for 22 categories of abuse and threat (such as online abuse, threats, homophobia, bodyshaming, political, racism, secual, betting, match fixing, doping, etc) and there will also be a focus on threats from horse welfare activists.
For dressage its 16 athletes and 10 officials will be covered. Threat Matrix will do an advanced Threat Assessment using a structured risk-tiering framework to evaluate the severity and credibility of each incident.
Read the full article on Equi-Pages
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