Meta apologizes for fixing a bug that caused Instagram Reels to show only pornographic videos

A problem occurred with Instagram's short video sharing feature 'Reels,' where extreme videos including murder, corpses, and pornography were displayed, even if the content settings were set to reduce the number of 'inappropriate content' displayed. Meta acknowledged that this was due to a bug, fixed it, and apologized.

Meta apologizes after Instagram users see graphic and violent content

Instagram 'Error' Turned Reels Into Neverending Scroll of Murder, Gore, and Violence
https://www.404media.co/instagram-error-turned-reels-into-neverending-scroll-of-murder-gore-and-violence/

Meta admits Instagram Reels featured violence, porn in graphic error | Mashable
https://mashable.com/article/meta-instagram-reels-violence-porn-error

'Reels' is a feature that allows users to play short videos of up to 15 seconds in length in succession, and is useful for purposes such as 'just wanting to get your fill of your favorite idol.' However, users reported that around Sunday, February 23, 2025, the feature began to display a large number of gore and pornographic videos, such as murders, executions, school shootings, street fights, and fatal accidents.

In fact, when news site CNBC checked on Wednesday, February 26, they found that videos containing dead bodies and blood were available for viewing, and the content had been labeled as 'sensitive content.'

On the bulletin board site Reddit, MyMiracleAligner commented, 'This is not the first time this has happened, it has happened several years ago but it just wasn't reported.' Reels is a feature added in 2020 , so this means that a similar glitch has occurred at least twice in the last five years.

Regarding this matter, a Meta spokesperson sent a statement to CNBC on Thursday, February 27th saying, 'We have fixed an issue that caused some users to see recommended content in Instagram Reels that should not have been displayed. We apologize for the mistake.'

Incidentally, there have been reports in Japan that 'only strange animals are washing up,' and given the timing, it's possible that this may be related to the current incident.

[Caution!] My Instagram reels are now showing only weird animals. 'Please take a look at my reels and help me' 'It's too scary...' - Togetter
https://togetter.com/li/2516551