#instagram - AlgorithmWatch

Mark Zuckerberg passing the letters "Fighting Fake News", screened on a wall. Vintage-Style Picture as it was old.

Statement on Meta’s Announcement to Gut Moderation and Fact-checking

Mark Zuckerberg says that he will roll back “censorship” on Meta platforms, but the changes will lead to the opposite. They may have severe consequences for users in the EU as well. What options do the European Commission and the Member States have to counter these developments?

Op-Ed on questionable Meta study

Social media algorithms are harmless, or are they?

New research published in Science and Nature suggest that Facebook and Instagram are not causing political polarization. But there are limitations in the research design that need to be discussed.

Reels of Fortune: Instagram-shaped memories for a bigger reach

The algorithm used to do it for us, now we do it for the algorithm: Platforms seek data on what people think good memories are. One user tells us how she constructs an end-of-year Recap Reel on Instagram.

Facebook goes after the creator of InstaPy, a tool that automates Instagram likes

Facebook sent a cease-and-desist letter to Tim Grossmann, the creator of InstaPy, and blocked his accounts – and those of his start-up – on the platform.

Instagram algorithm: Süddeutsche publishes results of data analysis

Using thousands of data donations from AlgorithmWatch’s Instagram monitoring browser plug-in, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung showed that posts from the far-right appear higher on users’ timelines.

Under Facebook’s thumb: Platforms must stop suppressing public interest research

Sign our petition to protect future research on online platforms!

AlgorithmWatch forced to shut down Instagram monitoring project after threats from Facebook

Digital platforms play an ever-increasing role in structuring and influencing public debate. Civil society watchdogs, researchers and journalists need to be able to hold them to account. But Facebook is increasingly fighting those who try. It shut down New York University’s Ad Observatory last week, and went after AlgorithmWatch, too. The European Parliament and EU Member States must act now to prevent further bullying.

Politicians can do well on Instagram. Political posts, less so.

An experiment by AlgorithmWatch, Groene Amsterdammer, Pointer and NOS in the Netherlands shows that Instagram probably prioritizes images of faces and pushes down images that contain text.

The Insta-mafia: How crooks mass-report users for profit

Groups of teenagers use weaknesses in the notification systems of Facebook and Instagram to take over accounts and harass users. The upcoming DSA regulation addresses the issue but is likely to fall short.

Towards a Monitoring of Instagram

Help us unveil the secrets of Instagram's algorithm

Undress or fail: Instagram’s algorithm strong-arms users into showing skin

An exclusive investigation reveals that Instagram prioritizes photos of scantily-clad men and women, shaping the behavior of content creators and the worldview of 140 millions Europeans in what remains a blind spot of EU regulations.