Instagram Reels overrun by sensitive, NSFW content; Meta apologises, says error fixed

Many Instagram users have been complaining about seeing disturbing and violent content in their feeds on the ‘Reels’ section. Some have also said that sensitive content has suddenly overtaken their feeds even after they enabled the “Sensitive Content Control” feature, which is the highest level of moderation on the app.

A user typically sees content based on their interests through the algorithm, but users have expressed concerns about graphic content appearing on their feeds. Many suggested that this might be a glitch or a bug on the app.

While these posts are marked as “Sensitive Content,” users are still able to view the content.

A user wrote on the social media platform X, “Is it just me, or has Instagram reels turned into a war zone? Nothing but fights, gore, and pure chaos on the feed.”

Another said, “Bro what is happening on Instagram reels rn. I saw about 24 people getting killed in the span of 6 minutes.”

A third user, posting a screen recording of his Instagram feed, said, “Is it just me, or is my Instagram feed completely off today? All I’m seeing are insensitive reels. What’s going on, Instagram?”

Meta, the parent company of Instagram, apologised on Thursday, February 26, saying that it has fixed the error.

“We have fixed an error that caused some users to see content in their Instagram Reels feed that should not have been recommended. We apologize for the mistake,” CNBC quoted a Meta spokesperson as saying.

The emergence of ‘not safe for work’ (NSFW) content on Instagram feeds has led many to question Meta's policy on protecting users from sensitive content.

While Meta is now working to fix the mistake and has apologised for the same, it maintains that the platform does allow certain graphic content if it is meant to raise awareness about important issues including human rights abuses or acts of terrorism, according to a CNBC report.