Instagram DOES prioritise ‘sexy selfies’ in your news feed with ‘soft porn algorithm’, study reveals
INSTAGRAM has come under fire after researchers found the app pushes semi-naked photos to the top of users' news feeds.
An investigation by German group Algorithm Watch found that Instagram's AI prioritises photos of scantily-clad men and women.
Researchers behind the report said the app’s algorithm "strong-arms users into showing skin".
They analysed 2,400 Instagram snaps, concluding that raunchy photos are up to 54 per cent more likely to appear in people's feeds.
The team explained their findings in a published Monday, sparking criticism on social media.
One user said the results were indicative of the "misogynistic roots" of Facebook, which owns Instagram.
Working with the European Data Journalism Network, experts at Algorithm Watch analysed Instagram newsfeeds and spoke to content creators.
The Berlin-based team also investigated patents filed by Instagram for the app's algorithm, which picks what posts to put at the top of the news feed.
The team asked 26 volunteers to download a special plug-in that regularly analysed their news feeds. Volunteers followed content creators who use Instagram to promote their brands.
"Of the 2,400 photos that the content creators posted, 362 (21%) showed bare-chested men, or women in bikinis or underwear," Algorithm Watch said.
"The researchers expected that if Instagram‘s algorithm wasn’t prioritising these pictures, the volunteers would see a similar diversity of posts. But that didn’t happen."
In the 26 newsfeeds studied, photos of scantily-clad people made up 30 per cent of the posts shown from the accounts.
Posts featuring women in their underwear or bikinis were 54 per cent more likely to appear in newsfeeds. Photos of bare-chested men were 28 per cent more likely to be shown.
By contrast, photos featuring food or landscape were 60 per cent less likely to be shown in the newsfeed, researchers said.
Instagram – the key facts
Here's what you need to know...
- Instagram is a social network for sharing photos and videos
- It was created back in October 2010 as an iPhone-exclusive app
- A separate version for Android devices was released 18 months later
- The app rose to popularity thanks to its filters system, which lets you quickly edit your photos with cool effects
- When it first launched, users could only post square 1:1 ratio images, but that rule was changed in 2015
- In 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for $1billion in cash and stock
- In 2018, some analysts believe the app is worth closer to $100billion
- In October 2015, Instagram confirmed that more than 40billion photos had been uploaded to the app
- And in 2018, Instagram revealed that more than a billion people were using the app every month
In a statement, Facebook disputed the findings, arguing that Insagram's news feed was tailored to individual users.
The company said: "This research is flawed in a number of ways and shows a misunderstanding of how Instagram works.
"We rank posts in your feed based on content and accounts you have shown an interest in, not on arbitrary factors like the presence of swimwear."
Instagram told The Sun that feeds are partly based on the likelihood you’ll be interested in the content, based on past interactions such as likes and comments.
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And, Instagram has removed 1.6million disturbing photos and videos depicting suicide and self-harm this year.
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