Ashton Hewitt: Social media companies can do more to stop online abuse, says Dragons wing

Ashton Hewitt is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a knee ligament injury in Dragons' game against Northampton Saints earlier this month

Dragons wing Ashton Hewitt wants social media companies to be proactive rather than reactive in the fight against online abuse.

Numerous sports and teams will boycott social media this weekend in an attempt to tackle abuse and discrimination.

Hewitt, 26, believes social media companies must do more.

"What we really want is for these accounts not to exist in the first place and hate not to be spread in the first place," he said.

"But what's happening is everybody is receiving the hate, everybody can see that, then the account gets deleted or removed or the comments taken down. By that time the damage is already done."

"I am not 100% sure of the answer if I am being honest but I am certain they (social media companies) can do something. They are a lot more reactive than proactive."

Former Wales squad member Hewitt, who is half Welsh and half Jamaican, has become a prominent figure in the fight against social media trolls.

Having responded online to social media abuse aimed at Welsh sprinter Sam Gordon, Hewitt became a target for trolls himself and has since spoken out about the issue on a number of occasions.

Premier League, English Football League and Women's Super League clubs announced last weekend they would unite for a boycott of social media platforms running from 15:00 BST on 30 April until 23:59 on Monday, 3 May.

They have been since been joined by numerous sporting organisations including Wales' rugby regions, the Welsh Rugby Union, the Welsh Rugby Players' Association and the Football Association of Wales.

Hewitt says it is "amazing to see the number of sports and teams within those sports" who are prepared to join the social media blackout.

Nevertheless, he fears the boycott will not be enough to have a serious impact on the approach of social media companies.

"My only concern with it is the length of the boycott, the number of people involved in the boycott, I am not sure how much impact that will have on these platforms," Hewitt said.

"Coming together as a collective is hugely positive and it encourages conversations. That's amazing.

"But in terms of actually hitting these social media platforms where it hurts, to make sure that they start to do something about online abuse and racial abuse, I am not sure how effective it will be in forcing their hand."