Instagram 'Error' Turned Reels Into Neverending Scroll of Murder, Gore, and Violence
www.404media.co
“Today’s algorithm showed me around 70 murders, 100+ accidents, and around 115 violence videos, is anyone on Instagram noticing it?”

If Lemmy/Pixelfed/Masto can’t capitalize on this we fucked up.

EDIT: realized it might be email/paywalled. In short, the IG algorithm started showing a huge number of gruesome murder videos to random users for seemingly no reason.

  • pelespirit@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    33·
    1 day ago

    I posted this in the other link, from the article:

    In an email, a Meta spokesperson told 404 Media “We have fixed an error that caused some users to see content in their Instagram Reels feed that should not have been recommended. We apologize for the mistake.” They said that the problem does not have anything to do with Meta’s recent announcement that it would loosen some content moderation rules.

    To prove that this was actually happening, I sent Meta six links to graphic reels. These included two videos of people getting shot in the face, a video of a dead body with no context or obvious news value, a person getting lit on fire, the account called “PeopleDeadDaily,” and the tower of terror video. None of these videos have been deleted.

    One of the many problems preventing people from actually holding Meta to account for any of this is that everyone’s feed is so incredibly personalized. Like I said, because we report on the darker corners of the internet, my Instagram feed is full of horrific things on a daily basis, which is probably not everyone’s experience.

      • PlantJam@lemmy.worldEnglish
        39·
        1 day ago

        Any time a video is known by its title instead of a description, it’s better not to seek it out.

      • Tarquinn2049@lemmy.worldEnglish
        9·
        23 hours ago

        It’s described in the article, got to it from one of the other links on lemmy. It’s the older tower of terror smaller carnival rides. The ones that are like 20-40 seats around a central pole and the seats alternate between going up and down the pole at as rapid a pace as that much weight can be cheaply moved.

        The video in question is about someone falling off of it.

      • icedcoffee@lemm.eeOPEnglish
        13·
        1 day ago

        For anyone not familiar (assuming you’re being serious here) the tower of terror is a ride based on a movie where you’re essentially in a simulated free-falling elevator. No seatbelts or safety inside the box but my understanding is that they are held to the same safety standards as other roller coasters. I legitimately can’t tell if this is about the ride or a real free falling elevator.