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The Wall Street Journal Journal sought to determine what Instagram’s Reels algorithm would recommend to test accounts set up to follow only young gymnasts, cheerleaders and other teen and preteen influencers active on the platform. Instagram’s system served jarring doses of salacious content to those test accounts, including risqué footage of children as well as overtly sexual adult videos—and ads for some of the biggest U.S. brands.
Meta, Instagram’s parent company, responded by stating that the Journal’s tests do not represent the typical user experience and highlighted its efforts to introduce brand safety tools and remove videos violating its standards. However, the Journal’s findings suggest that Instagram’s algorithms are pushing related content to users based on their interests, even if those interests include child sexualization.
Advertisers whose ads appeared next to inappropriate content expressed concerns. Match Group and Bumble suspended their ads on Meta platforms, while Disney and other brands pressed Meta for improved brand-safety features. Meta’s response included offering to pay for brand-safety audits but did not provide a clear resolution timeline.
The nature of the content served, which often sexualizes children without nudity, highlights the shift in online child sexual abuse dynamics due to social media. The Canadian Centre for Child Protection conducted similar tests with comparable results, emphasizing the risk of Meta’s algorithms inadvertently fostering online child exploitation communities. This situation calls into question the ability of Meta’s algorithms to safely curate content, especially considering the sensitive nature of content involving minors.
The entire article can be read at the link Instagram’s Algorithm Delivers Toxic Video Mix to Adults Who Follow Children – WSJ
