Instagram will now warn you before you post an offensive caption
In its ongoing efforts to fight online bullying, Instagram will now warn users when their photo captions "may be considered offensive," essentially offering them a chance to carefully reword whatever it was they were about to put into the universe.
It's similar to a comments feature the social media platform rolled out earlier in 2019. It says the results "have been promising, and we’ve found that these types of nudges can encourage people to reconsider their words when given a chance."
The process will rely on AI, according to Instagram, alerting the user that their caption "is similar to those reported for bullying." In theory, the user could then rethink their language and post a less offensive caption.
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Instagram confirmed to Mashable that even if they get a warning about a potentially offensive caption, they can still post it. But if it violates the platform's terms of service, the post would be removed.
The company also confirmed its AI is learning ways in which people try to circumvent it, including using punctuation in words (like "b.a.d." instead of "bad").
UPDATE: Dec. 16, 2019, 10:40 a.m. EST Updated to include comment from Instagram
Topics Instagram Social Media
Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.
