Henry hopes quitting social media inspires others to stand up to online abuse

Former France international Thierry Henry hopes his decision to turn his back on social media can inspire others in the fight against racism and bullying online.

The ex-Arsenal and Barcelona striker, who has 15 million followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, on Friday said he would be disabling his accounts and called on platforms to tackle the issues of racism and bullying with the same effort they put into taking down material that infringes copyright. Henry said social media had become a weapon for anonymous account holders.