Yahoo News Instagram blames anti-spam filter for burying some Black Lives Matter posts
Instagram's anti-spam is reportedly 'incorrectly' blocking users' posts with the #blacklivesmatter hashtag.
The platform shared an update after some users reported having a 'post blocked' message in the app after trying to post something with the hashtag.
The post blocked message says: "This action was blocked. Please try again later. We restrict certain content and actions to protect our community. Tell us if you think we made a mistake".
There have been an overwhelming amount of posts using the hashtag in response to protests that have been taking place in America over the death of George Floyd, an un-armed black man who died in police custody on Monday, May 25.
A police officer, who was filmed kneeling on Mr Floyd's neck for several minutes, has since been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
1/ We're aware that some people are incorrectly running into "action blocked" messages when using the hashtag #blacklivesmatter, or resharing related posts. We have technology that detects rapidly increasing activity on Instagram to help combat spam.
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms)
In a series of tweet, Instagram shared that the issues were arising on the platform due to the sheer number of posts using #blacklivesmatter, triggering its spam prevention for a few users.
“We're aware that some people are incorrectly running into ‘action blocked’ messages when using the hashtag #blacklivesmatter, or resharing related posts,” Instagram said.
3/ We want to be clear that using #blacklivesmatter is supported and celebrated on Instagram, and we are moving quickly to ensure voices using this hashtag are heard.
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms)
“We have technology that detects rapidly increasing activity on Instagram to help combat spam", reads the tweet.
It continues, "Given the increase in the content shared to #blacklivesmatter, this technology is incorrectly coming into effect. We are resolving this issue as quickly as we can, and investigating a separate issue uploading Stories.”
Instagram didn't say how long the issues will continue to last or just how many people have been affected by this error. The company said it was not trying to silence the hashtag at all.
“We want to be clear that using #blacklivesmatter is supported and celebrated on Instagram, and we are moving quickly to ensure voices using this hashtag are heard".
Instagram's parent company Facebook recently committed $10 million to groups working on racial justice. The company has come under fire from its own staff recently for not restricting posts by the US president Donald Trump which incited violence against the protesters.
Read more
We must be better: Obama speaks out over George Floyd's death
