In the aftermath of X's alleged ad controversy involving antisemitic content, Meta now faces scrutiny regarding its content algorithm, particularly on Instagram's Reels video service. An experiment by The Wall Street Journal revealed that Reels presented "risqué footage of children as well as overtly sexual adult videos" to test accounts following teen and preteen influencers like young gymnasts and cheerleaders, despite such content being prohibited on Meta's platforms.
Compounding the issue, this explicit content was reportedly interspersed with ads from major US brands, including Disney, Walmart, Pizza Hut, Bumble, Match Group, and even The Wall Street Journal itself. The Canadian Centre for Child Protection reportedly achieved similar findings in independent tests.
While Walmart and Pizza Hut purportedly chose not to comment, Bumble, Match Group, Hims, and Disney have either pulled their ads from Meta or pressed the company to address the issue. Post the earlier X controversy, advertisers are notably sensitive to the content adjacent to their ads, causing additional concerns for Disney, affected by both X and Instagram issues.
In response, Meta informed its clients of an ongoing investigation and pledged to cover the costs of brand-safety auditing services to evaluate the frequency of a company's ads appearing next to objectionable content. However, Meta did not specify a timeline or details on future preventive measures.
While some argue that such tests may not precisely represent real user experiences, sources within Meta indicate that Instagram's problem with aggregating child sexualization content was acknowledged internally even before the launch of Reels. Current and former Meta employees interviewed by the WSJ suggest that an effective solution would involve a revamp of the algorithms responsible for suggesting related content to users. However, internal documents hint that implementing such substantial changes is challenging for Meta, as traffic performance reportedly takes precedence over safety measures within the social media giant.