Meta, the owner of Instagram, issued an apology today after an error caused violent content to trend on its reels.
“We have fixed an error that caused some users to see content in their Instagram Reels feed that should not have been recommended. We apologise for the mistake,” said a Meta spokesperson.
Reels is a section on Instagram made to watch and share short TikTok-style videos. According to Statista, there are 2 billion monthly active Instagram Reels users.
Users described the violent reels that had appeared in their deeds on a Reddit Instagram forum.
“I just saw at least 10 people die on my reels.” said one user.
While Meta did not reveal the reason behind the sudden change in the algorithm’s recommendations, reports suggest it could be from a bug in Instagram’s moderation system, resulting in the accidental prioritisation of violent posts.
This reporter was also exposed to large amounts of disturbing and violent reels, including street fights, people being attacked, and even fatal shootings and accidents.
In the comment section of these videos, other users wondering why their algorithm had been bombarded with these violent reels.