An investigation by The Wall Street Journal (TWSJ) found that Instagram algorithms can display disturbing sexual content alongside ads from major brands. Match Group and Bumble were among the companies to suspend their ad campaigns on the social media platform in response.
A number of organisations including TWSJ conducted tests around the type of content that could be displayed on Instagram, and alongside the platform’s ads.
Test accounts following young athletes, cheerleaders, and child influencers were served “risqué footage of children as well as overtly sexual adult videos” alongside ads from major brands, the report shares.
For example, a video of someone touching a human-like latex doll, and a video of a young girl exposing her midriff, were recommended alongside an ad from dating app Bumble.
Meta (parent company of Instagram) responded to these tests by saying they were unrepresentative and brought about on purpose by reporters. This hasn’t stopped companies with ads on Instagram from distancing themselves from the social media platform.
Match Group has since stopped some promotions of its brands on any of Meta’s platforms, with spokeswoman Justine Sacco saying “We have no desire to pay Meta to market our brands to predators or place our ads anywhere near this content”.
Bumble has also suspended its ads on Meta platforms, with a spokesperson for the dating app telling TWSJ it “would never intentionally advertise adjacent to inappropriate content”.
A spokesperson for Meta explained that the company has introduced new safety tools that enable greater decision making by advertisers over where their content will be shared. They highlight that Instagram takes action against four million videos each month for violating its standards.
But there are difficulties with amending these systems. Content moderations systems may struggle to analyse video content as opposed to still images. Additionally, Instagram Reels often recommends content from accounts that are not followed, making it easier for inappropriate content to find its way to a user.
