Instagram’s recommendations were pushing users towards Covid’s misinformation, anti-vaccination content and anti-Semitic material during the peak of the pandemic, according to a report by a social media watchdog.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found that new Instagram accounts were shown substantial amounts of misinformation through the platform’s algorithmic recommendations, including the “explore” page and the “suggested post” feature, which was introduced in August of 2020 and offers new posts for users who have browsed through all of their friends’ content.
Disinformation was most often shown to new users who followed a combination of accounts on the platform that included anti-vaccination personalities or wellness influencers, according to the CCDH report, Malgorithm. Volunteers who followed 10 accounts with anti-vaccine links, for example, received recommendations for posts that promoted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Numerous posts stated that “there was no pandemic” and others asked people to “stop testing” and “stop wearing your mask”.
“It is unbelievable that, with the pandemic sweeping the world, Instagram has launched a new feature encouraging users to view conspiracy theories and lies about Covid and vaccines,” said CCDH Chief Executive Imran Ahmed. “This feature was created in the name of profit, to keep people rolling so that more ads could be served to them.
“Algorithms that recommend content are the act of an editor, making choices about what readers see, not a neutral platform. This has serious legal and regulatory implications for social media companies and shows their responsibility for harm to individuals and society. “
Facebook, the owner of Instagram, said in a statement that the survey was outdated and misleading. “We share the goal of reducing the spread of misinformation, but this research is five months out of date. It also uses a sample size of just 104 posts, compared to the 12 million harmful erroneous information about vaccines and Covid-19 that we removed from Facebook and Instagram since the start of the pandemic, ”said a spokesman.
“We are focused on connecting people to reliable information, which is why we have directed more than 10 million searches so far related to Covid-19 and vaccines to trusted health sources, such as the NHS and government websites. We are also working on improvements to Instagram search to make accounts that discourage vaccines more difficult to find. “