The Cybersmile Foundation and creative agency Ten Toes have revealed a new campaign for Stop Cyberbullying Day featuring bruised Premier League players.
Footballers including Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Harry Maguire, Kasper Schmeichel, Ben Mee and Jermaine Jenas took part in the creative campaign to show the real-world impact of online abuse, and how it can affect people’s wellbeing.
Each footballer revealed ‘edited selfies’ across social media on Friday to kick off Stop Cyberbullying Day, shocking fans that asked “What happened?” as the pictures went viral.
With each new photo, the creative campaign attained millions of views, with selfies being widely debated among internet users across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Speaking about the new campaign, Ten Toes Managing Director said, “It’s a real pleasure to work alongside Cybersmile on the Campaign, which sees household names in football come together and call out online abuse.”
Reflecting on the campaign’s launch, Scott Freeman, CEO for The Cybersmile Foundation said, “Everybody at Cybersmile is excited to be working alongside Ten Toes and such high-profile players to deliver the very important message carried by this campaign.”
With internet users from all walks of life receiving online abuse, Cybersmile and Ten Toes’ latest campaign aims to raise awareness of how negative words and abusive comments can have a long-lasting impact.
Crisis support: If you are in the U.K. or Ireland and need immediate help, you can contact the Samaritans for free on 116 123.