To mark the occasion, the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOC) and the Estonian Center for Integrity in Sports (EADSE) continued the campaign “Word Has Power,” launched last year. The campaign highlights the impact of verbal abuse and calls for greater responsibility in online communication.
This year’s campaign draws particular attention to the influence of social media comments on athletes’ mental well-being and performance. Negative or abusive messages—often sent directly to athletes—can have lasting effects, impacting confidence, motivation and future results.
Biathlete, first ever Estonian member of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Athletes' Commission y Johanna Talihärm has had to deal with many unpleasant online comments throughout her career.
“People commenting on Instagram, Facebook or in online forums sound to us like someone who has only ever seen a camel once on television—and then starts giving it posture advice for its spine,” she says. According to Talihärm, anonymous online comments do not reflect the reality of elite sport, and she consciously chooses not to read them.
“People often think it’s just an opinion, a sentence written in the heat of the moment, something that carries no real weight. In reality, every athlete is first and foremost a human being, and poor performance is already the most painful for them, let alone those harsh comments,” she said, emphasising that athletes need more understanding and support rather than criticism.
Athletes, coaches and fans are invited to take part by sharing messages of support on social media using the hashtag #WordHasPower and showing a white card as a sign of solidarity. The initiative calls on the entire sports community to stand against online abuse and promote respectful communication.
The White Card Day campaign has been celebrated in Estonia
since 2017, each year focusing on different social issues—from bullying
prevention to supporting communities and promoting unity through sport.
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