Instagram has become a soapbox for the Black Lives Matter movement—a popular platform for demanding justice, expressing solidarity, supporting businesses, amplifying voices, and raising awareness. But while a revolution rages at the surface, the social network must reconcile how its treats equality at the core.
"In the last few weeks, we've seen an incredible movement happening around the world. As these important conversations have come to our platform, we've seen communities on Instagram mobilizing," CEO Adam Mosseri wrote in a blog post.
"At the same time, we're also hearing concern about whether we suppress Black voices and whether our products and policies treat everyone equally," he continued, highlighting the irony that "we're a platform that stands for elevating Black voices, but at the same time Black people are often harassed, afraid of being 'shadowbanned,' and disagree with many content takedowns."
For years, folks have complained of stealth banning—the act of blocking a user and/or their content in such a way that they don't realize it's happening. Instagram promised more information "soon" about the types of posts it avoids recommending. The company, which has previously taken steps to curb online bullying and bolster mental health, is turning its focus toward underrepresented groups at and on Instagram. "We need to better support the Black community within our own organization, as well as on our platform," according to Mosseri, who outlined four key elements for change:
Harassment: Address safety inequalities on and off the site and fill gaps in products and policies
Account verification: Adjust current criteria to ensure inclusivity
Distribution: Review how content is filtered on Explore and Hashtag pages
Algorithmic bias: Investigate how internal technology enforces inequality
"This work is going to take some time, but we're going to provide updates over the next few months—both about what we learn and what we address," Mosseri said. "These efforts won't stop with the disparities people may experience solely on the basis of race; we're also going to look at how we can better serve other underrepresented groups that use our product," including the LGBTQ+ community and body positivity activists.
Further Reading
- UK Probes Facebook's Acquisition of Giphy Over Antitrust Concerns
- Joe Biden Urges Facebook to 'Fix Problems' Ahead of Presidential Election
- EU Wants Google, Facebook, Twitter to Report Monthly on Fight Against Fake News
- Twitter to Ask 'Did You Actually Read This Article?' Before Retweets
- More in Amplify
- More in Social Media