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.
Yeah so funnily enough I just checked IG reels and saw one where about four people get shot. There was a “sensitive content” screen over it but that’s it. Postmodern complaint: I’m just glad it wasn’t someone getting sucked into an escalator, those are freaky.
It’s always at the bottom or top right where you’d step off and you just watch the person’s shoe suddenly disappear, and then they disappear. I believe it’s a shoelace or loose/flexible shoes that get pulled into the machinery and belts where the surface flattens out and goes back under the floor.