The Areto Index
The Areto Global
Hate Speech Index.
Q3 2026 · Latest edition
Sexism, Q3 2026. A record high, five and a half times its baseline.
Sexism hits record high as abuse against women's sports surges
July 1 to September 30, 2026, with the January to September picture.
The Areto Index measures online abuse in sport. It's drawn from real comments on the social channels of sports leagues and clubs across North America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia, rather than from surveys. The baseline is Q1 2024 = 100. A higher number means abuse makes up a bigger share of the conversation.
012026 so far
Abuse has moved to a higher floor
Sexism on sports social media averaged 486 between January and September 2026, nearly double the 253 recorded over the same period in 2025. The General Index averaged 176, up 18.9%, and every quarter of 2026 has been higher than every quarter of 2025.
General Index, Q1 2024 to Q3 2026. The dashed line is the baseline of 100.
- Sexism hit a record 550 in Q3 2026, five and a half times its baseline.
- The summer dip didn't arrive. The General Index fell just 6.6% from Q2 to Q3, compared with a 25% drop in 2025.
- Abuse on women's sports accounts has risen every quarter this year, from 141 to 233. That's up 65%.
02All editions
| Q3 2026 | Sexism hits record high as abuse against women's sports surges Latest | July to September 2026 | → |
| H1 2026 | Abuse hits a record high as sexism reaches 4.5 times baseline Catch-up | January to June 2026 | → |
| Q3 2025 | The Areto Global Hate Speech Index: Q3 2025 | Historical edition | → |
| Q2 2025 | The Areto Global Hate Speech Index: Q2 2025 | Historical edition | → |
| Q1 2025 | The Areto Global Hate Speech Index: Q1 2025 | Historical edition | → |
The Areto Index is published as three quarterly editions and an annual report each year. The next edition is the 2026 annual report, due in early 2027.
03Methodology
- What is hate speech?
- The Areto Index covers both illegal speech, such as threats or incitement to violence, and harmful speech that, while not necessarily illegal, makes people feel unsafe or unwelcome, so that they disengage or leave the digital community.
- How is the Index calculated?
- The Index divides the total number of abusive comments by the total number of comments analysed across all accounts. That gives a standard way to track harmful content relative to overall engagement.
- How is the Index benchmarked?
- The Index is based on real-world social media comments from sports leagues and club ecosystems across North America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. The baseline is Q1 2024 = 100.
