New Instagram features after racist attacks on football players
Taking racist and abusive comments against English football players after the European Championship final as an example, Instagram announced features meant to protect users from abuse on the social media platform. People can limit comments and direct message requests during spikes of increased attention.
The company is also introducing stronger warnings when people try to post potentially offensive comments and will globally introduce the earlier announced Hidden Words feature which allows people to filter abusive DM requests.
“Our research shows that a lot of negativity towards public figures comes from people who don’t actually follow them, or who have only recently followed them, and who simply pile on in the moment. We saw this after the recent Euro 2020 final, which resulted in a significant – and unacceptable – spike in racist abuse towards players.”
“Creators also tell us they don’t want to switch off comments and messages completely; they still want to hear from their community and build those relationships. Limits allows you to hear from your long-standing followers, while limiting contact from people who might only be coming to your account to target you.”
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