Meta Rectifies Issue That Caused Surge of Violent Videos on Instagram Reels – One America News Network
By Reuters
February 27, 2025 – 4:34 AM PST
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(Reuters) – Meta Platforms (META.O) announced on Thursday that it had corrected a malfunction that inundated the personal Reels feeds of Instagram users globally with violent and graphic videos.
The extent of the glitch’s impact on users is still unclear. Meta’s statement came after numerous complaints surfaced on social media about violent and “not safe for work” content in Reels feeds, even from users who had activated the “sensitive content control” setting designed to limit such material.
“We have resolved an issue that led some users to be shown content in their Instagram Reels feed that should not have been recommended. We sincerely apologize for the oversight,” stated a Meta spokesperson.
The company did not provide details regarding the cause of the error.
Meta’s moderation policies have faced increased scrutiny following its decision last month to discontinue its U.S. fact-checking initiative on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads—three of the largest social media platforms in the world with a combined user base exceeding 3 billion.
Under Meta’s policy, violent and graphic videos are prohibited, and the company usually removes such content to ensure user safety, with certain exceptions made for videos that aim to raise awareness about issues such as human rights violations and conflict.
In recent years, the company has increasingly relied on automated moderation tools, a strategy expected to expand with the cessation of fact-checking in the U.S.
Critics have accused Meta of failing to strike an effective balance between content recommendations and user safety, as demonstrated by incidents involving the spread of violent content during the Myanmar genocide, Instagram promoting content related to eating disorders among teenagers, and misinformation circulation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reporting by Surbhi Misra and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty
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