“Unplay The Hate” by LGBT+ movement All Out was the first global protest in the metaverse, taking place in “FIFA World” on Roblox. The work is relevant to this category because it builds up with an existing media – the metaverse roblox – and uses the leverage of earned media to spread the message and build up pressure. It is relevant to media to pick up, because it highlights a hidden truth behind the shiny Fifa World.

The FIFA World Cup 2022 took place in Qatar, which has long been considered to be one of the

unsafest places in the world for members of the LGBT+ community. Any homosexual act can be

punished with up to three years in prison or the death penalty. And FIFA didn't take any action to

ensure the safety of LGBT+ football fans.

Since protesting for LGBT+ rights in Qatar is impossible, All Out was looking for a safe way to take a

stand against the abuse of LGBT+ rights in Qatar and pressure FIFA to take action.

Because protesting in real Qatar is illegal, we organized a protest in virtual Qatar: FIFA World on

metaverse platform Roblox. We took over the center stage of FIFA’s headquarters in the metaverse

and created a protest toolkit that allowed activists from around the world to take a stand against the

hate without the fear of repercussions.

By taking the protest to the metaverse, we encouraged more people than ever to take a stand for LGBT+ rights: Being able to protest from the comfort of their home as an avatar on Roblox allowed members of the LGBT+ community to raise their voice in a safe space without the fear of repercussions.

The metaverse protest helped All Out to get in touch with a new and younger audience – namely gamers – and inspire them to take action in a way that fits them. The strategy was to bring the media on board during protests.

Two days before the start of the tournament, we gathered activists from around the globe and took over the center stage of FIFA World. To ensure our protest is not banned, we spread the message across seventeen avatars, each protester carrying a single letter. Together, they formed the message:

FIFA UNPLAY THE HATE.

Following the kick-off, we invited everyone to take to the Metaverse and protest. To make participating

as easy as possible, we created virtual protest shirts and even accounts with ready-made avatars – so

everyone could join the protest from the safety of their home.

We were able to gain many news outlets to cover the protest. In

In Switzerland, the biggest newspapers took part in the initial protest, and covered a story as "embedded protester".

- approx. 2000 people used our toolkit to protest during the world cup as individuals or groups.

- 2 Million impressions of earned media

- Engagement with All Out Social Channels increased by 30% during the campaign.

- Full Media Coverage by all big media outlets in Switzerland, Fifa's location.

- International coverage from major media around the globe (from Germany to Brasil, US, Japan,

Vietnam, China) resulting in total approx. 1.4 Million media buying equivalent through earned media

- All Out was able to develop a new interest group – gamers – directly through the protest on roblox

and through coverage in tech blogs etc.

- Most importantly, the metaverse protest has pioneered a new way for activism in the digital age,

allowing more people than ever to take action without the fear of repercussions.

Fifa is based in Switzerland, and much of the international pressure is addressed towards Switzerland.

So it was important to the client All Out and involved partners, to have a big effect in Switzerland

(Press coverage etc.), so that it will bring the public in Switzerland to put pressure on it’s domestical

association.