Instagram Introduces Tools to Curb Bullying and Spread Kindness

• Instagram announced two new features to make the social media platform less toxic.
• The service will now be detecting bullying through machine learning and report offensive content to Community Operations.
• A new camera filter is also being added to spread kindness.

Instagram is trying to curb bullying on the platform through machine learning. The social media platform revealed that most of the content on the platform is positive, but sometimes negativity seeps through in the form of bullying. Two new tools have been introduced to the platform to help curb the problem and also spread kindness.

Machine learning technology will automatically detect any form of bullying posted through photos or their captions. Content that is flagged gets sent to the Community Operations team for review, and any infringing content will be removed from the platform. An update with the technology will roll out in the coming weeks.

Instagram revealed that the move would “help us identify and remove significantly more bullying — and it’s a crucial next step since many people who experience or observe bullying don’t report it. It will also help us protect our youngest community members since teens experience higher rates of bullying online than others.”

A filter for bullying comments was added to detect bullying comments from the Instagram feed, Explore section and user profiles. Going forward, the Live section will also have access to the bullying filter to create a cleaner environment.

Image Courtesy of Instagram

A Kindness camera filter is also being added to the platform to encourage more Instagram users to share and celebrate positivity on the platform. The social media platform is partnering with New York Times best-selling teen author, dancer, and actor, Maddie Ziegler. Following Maddie will offer access to the new camera effect in Selfie mode. Tagging friends when using the filter will allow your friends access to the filter as well.

Users who do not follow Maddie but see someone else use the filter on the platform will get access to a “Try It” option. Tapping on it will offer access to the filter for sharing Stories. The initiative by Instagram was introduced honor of National Bullying Prevention Month in the US, the upcoming Anti-Bullying Week in the UK and anti-bullying efforts all over the world.

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