Instagram Rolls Out New Efforts for Ukrainian and Russian Accounts Instagram is highlighting tools that allow users to bulk delete their content.
By Chloe Arrojado Edited by Amanda Breen
Yesterday, Meta announced that Instagram is ramping up efforts to reduce the spread of misinformation. Part of these new measures includes addressing Russian state-controlled media.
"Following last week's announcement that we've begun demoting posts containing links to Russian state-controlled media on Facebook, starting today, Stories that contain a link sticker pointing to a Russian state-controlled media website on Instagram will be placed lower in the Stories tray. We'll also label these Stories to let people know that they lead to Russian state-controlled media websites," Meta wrote.
This new sticker, which Meta showed in its announcement, adds a note that says, "This story contains a link from a publisher Instagram believes may be partially or wholly under the editorial control of the Russian government."
Related: Crypto Users Answer Ukraine's Call for Help By Donating Millions
Instagram is also adding features for private accounts based in Ukraine and Russia. The platform will now hide information about a private account's followers and who they're following in the two countries, and will highlight tools like "Your Activity" and "Download Your Information" to users. "Your Activity" allows people to bulk delete posted comments as well as likes and comments while "Download Your Information" lets people get a copy of their Instagram data.
Previously, Instagram has rolled out other protections for users in Ukraine and Russia that include making encrypted one-to-one chats available and security alerts.
5/ On Instagram, we've been rolling out a privacy and account security alert in Ukraine with specific steps on how to protect your account. pic.twitter.com/ToEFf8Gyb2
— Nathaniel Gleicher (@ngleicher) February 26, 2022
Meta shared that since February 23, its Facebook and Instagram platforms have raised more than $30 million for nonprofits supporting humanitarian relief in Ukraine.
As of Wednesday morning, Meta stock is up 3.39% over a 24-hour period.
Related: Where Apple, Twitter and Other Major U.S. Companies Stand With Russia
