Instagram’s algorithms suggested a myriad of sexualized content to adult users who mostly follow accounts of pre-teen and teen influencers, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation published Monday.
A June WSJ research revealed that Instagram algorithms allow child predators to connect with each other by promoting content to users with similar interests. This time, WSJ set up several adult accounts that followed young gymnasts, cheerleaders and influencers and found that Instagram’s algorithms suggested sexually explicit videos and questionable content involving children.
The test accounts were also shown ads for companies like Walmart and Pizza Hut after sexually explicit videos, according to the WSJ. A Walmart ad was shown to a test account after a video of a woman exposing her genital area.
According to the WSJ, many companies require that their advertising not appear next to sexual or explicit content.
The test accounts also followed other users who followed similar accounts, which the WSJ found increased the risque content it suggested, including a video of a clothed young woman touching her torso and another of a boy impersonating a sexual act
The ads would also recommend dating apps, massage parlors with “happy endings” and chatbots for cybersex to test accounts, according to the WSJ. An ad for dating app Bumble appeared before a video of a person caressing a life-size latex doll and after another video of a girl, whose face was digitally obscured and I could see him pulling his shirt up over his stomach.
According to the WSJ, an ad urging users to visit Disneyland was followed by a video of a woman initiating sexual acts with her father. Another ad for the company Him, which provides erectile dysfunction drugs, was seen shortly after a reel of a woman in a sexual position with a link to the “full video”.
Meta told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the results of the WSJ investigation were a “fabricated experience” and that they “do not represent what billions of people around the world see every day” on Instagram.
“We don’t want this kind of content on our platforms and brands don’t want their ads appearing alongside it,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. “We continue to invest aggressively to stop this and report quarterly on the prevalence of this content, which remains very low. Our systems are effective at reducing harmful content and we have invested billions in security solutions, security and brand suitability”.
Disneyland, Walmart, Bumble, Him and Pizza Hut did not immediately respond to DCNF’s request for comment.
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