Instagram’s New Features to Deal with Internet Trolls
Earlier this week, singer and songwriter Lizzo talked about the “fatphobic” and “racist” comments she’s been receiving since the release of her song “Rumors.”
While becoming a celebrity would be a dream come true for most of us, the job comes with unwanted negative attention. “I know it’s my job as an artist to reflect the times and this should not fly, this should not be okay,” she said in an interview with Good Morning America. Her comments came a week after Instagram announced its new features that will tackle the problem of online harassment.
The new features include tools that limit commenting and direct message (DM) requests during spikes of increased attention — such as people going viral, stronger warnings when posting potentially offensive comments and a Hidden Words feature that allows users to filter abusive DM requests.
These tools will work in addition to software that detects hate speech and racism, and user filed reports.
Figure 1 Sourced from Instagram
If someone anticipates a rush of negative comments, they can simply turn on the Limits feature which will automatically hide comments and DM requests from users who aren’t followers or who only recently followed the account.
The company’s research suggests that a lot of negativity received by public figures comes from people who don’t follow them and “pile on in the moment.” The feedback they got from creators who were under public scrutiny was that they still wanted to hear from their community and fanbase. This is why the Limits feature automatically hides comments and DM requests from recent followers or users who aren’t followers at all.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri had previously confirmed this new feature after England footballers experienced racist attacks on the app preceding the Euro 2020 final. This raised the question of whether the current features were enough to protect individuals.
“Racism and hate speech have no place on Instagram,” said he said. The new tools will give back power to users if they are being harassed, explained Mosseri. The company is testing technology that can automatically detect a spike in comments and DMs to prompt a user to turn on the Limits feature.
Another feature, Hidden Words, filters requests that contain offensive words, phrases or emojis and puts them in a separate folder. If your curiosity doesn’t get the best of you, you never have to look at this folder.
The feature expands into comments as well, letting users hide comments that are potentially harmful, even if they don’t go against Instagram’s rules.
The app, now, displays a sterner warning the first time a user tries to post anything offensive. The pop-up warns them that the comment may have racist language and it may be hidden from other people. If the offense is repeated, then the user’s account will be deleted.
Instagram hopes that the impact these tools have is positive. “We hope these new features will protect people from seeing abusive content, whether it’s racist, sexist, homophobic or any other type of abuse,” said Mosseri in an announcement, adding, “We know there’s more to do, including improving our systems to find and remove abusive content more quickly, and holding those who post it accountable.”
