Instagram gets an F, TikTok a D+ on sexism report card

Feminist advocacy group UltraViolet has released a report card ranking some of the biggest social media platforms on how they handle misinformation, hate speech, harassment, and misogyny. Nobody did well.

Compiled in partnership with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, the report evaluates Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube's policies against UltraViolet's 11 Policy Recommendations. It then averages each platform's scores and assigns a letter grade according to Harvard University Graduate School of Education's grading rubric.

Predictably, nobody got a gold star for their work, with Instagram emerging as the dunce of the class with an abysmal F overall. But even Reddit, the highest scoring of the lot, only walked away with a C average.

"Social media has become an almost ubiquitous part of modern life," said UltraViolet communications director Bridget Todd in a press release on Wednesday. "Despite the advantages of keeping in touch on social media platoforms [sic], we can’t allow the companies behind them to peddle lies and conspiracy theories, or tacitly condone racist, misogynistic, homophobic and transphobic attacks."

The only two As on the report card were earned in individual categories by Reddit and Twitter, both for ensuring that any user on these platforms can report content which violates their policies. However Twitter's average score was dragged down by its F-worthy failure to direct users exposed to extremist content to resources for countering extremism, as well as its failure to have a human-monitored help desk to support and protect victims of online sexual abuse. Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok also scored Fs in both of these categories.

In addition to the report card, UltraViolet also published an open letter to the CEOs of all the platforms it evaluated, demanding the companies immediately adopt and enforce the advocacy group's policies to better protect marginalised groups. UltraViolet's open letter was also signed by 75 other international organisations, including Color Of Change, GLAAD, and Public Citizen.

"Black, Indigenous, and women of color and LGBTQ people are being harmed on the internet by an onslaught of racist and misogynist attacks," the letter says. "The actions of your companies — Alphabet, Facebook, Twitter, ByteDance, TikTok, and Reddit — have demonstrated that you care more about your profit margins than keeping people safe."

It is a bit strange that UltraViolet listed Alphabet (formerly Google) but not Meta (formerly Facebook), and named TikTok and parent company Bytedance separately. Still, the overall sentiment is clear.

The likelihood that any of the addressed companies adopt UltraViolet's suggestions seems slim. But it's worth a shot if there's even a small chance the continued pressure on social media platforms will make the internet a better place. 

"Your failure to act undermines free speech because it enables bad actors who create hostile environments that chill the free speech of marginalized communities," UltraViolet wrote. "There was once a time when social media represented revolutionary technology that could increase access to information, encourage empathy and diversity, and advance democracy. Now, your platforms must make a choice between pursuing those worthy ideals or continuing to drown the digital and physical worlds in hate, extremism, disinformation, and violence."