How Instagram is using AI to tackle bullying
Automated systems will flag images and captions that show signs of hurtful content

Instagram is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to spot signs of bullying in photos and comments.
Due to roll out across the social network within the coming weeks, the algorithm will automatically scan images and captions for content that violates the company’s community guidelines, according to the Daily Mail.
For instance, the AI can “detect if a photo is criticising a person’s appearance or character”, the newspaper says, or if an image “is making a threat to someone’s wellbeing”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Once an image is flagged by the algorithm, it is then sent to Instagram’s Community Operations team to be evaluated by a moderator.
The Verge believes this human reviewer could be the key to the AI’s success as automated systems often have difficulty understanding “context and nuance”.
“Automation without oversight is a recipe for disaster,” the site says.
It’s hoped the algorithm will help protect Instagram’s younger users, as they experience the “highest rates of bullying online”, Digital Trends reports.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Adam Mosseri, the company’s new chief executive, said: “Online bullying is complex, and we know we have more work to do to further limit bullying and spread kindness on Instagram.
“We are now using machine learning technology to proactively detect bullying in photos and their captions and send them to our Community Operations team to review,” he said.
“This change will 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.”
Mosseri has been at the helm of the company for less than two weeks, says tech news site geek.com.
He took over the position of Instagram’s chief executive after company co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger resigned from the social network last month.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purge
Cartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?
In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Crossword: August 23, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Supreme Court allows social media age check law
Speed Read The court refused to intervene in a decision that affirmed a Mississippi law requiring social media users to verify their ages
-
What's Linda Yaccarino's legacy? And what's next for X?
Today's Big Question An 'uncertain future' in the age of TikTok
-
Social media: How 'content' replaced friendship
Feature Facebook has shifted from connecting with friends to competing with entertainment companies
-
Meta on trial: What will become of Mark Zuckerberg's social media empire?
Today's Big Question Despite the CEO's attempt to ingratiate himself with Trump, Meta is on trial, accused by the U.S. government of breaking antitrust law
-
What's Mark Zuckerberg's net worth?
In Depth The Meta magnate's products are a part of billions of lives
-
TikTok's fate uncertain as weekend deadline looms
Speed Read The popular app is set to be banned in the U.S. starting Sunday
-
Meta's right turn on red: Zuckerberg turns toward MAGA
Talking Points Zuckerberg is abandoning fact-checkers to embrace "free speech," a familiar refrain for Trump's cohort
-
Is 'AI slop' breaking the internet?
In The Spotlight 'Low-quality, inauthentic, or inaccurate' content is taking over social media and distorting search engine results