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'It Took 10 Seconds For Instagram To Push Me Into an Anti-Vaxx Rabbit Hole' (vice.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the guided-by-algorithms dept.

eatmorekix quotes Vice: It only took around ten seconds. On Wednesday, I created a fresh Instagram account, and followed 'Beware the Needle', a user with 34,000 followers which posts a steady stream of anti-vaccination content. I also followed the user's "backup" account mentioned in its bio, the creator clearly aware that Instagram may soon ban them. Instagram's "Suggested for You" feature then recommended I follow other accounts, including "Vaccines are Genocide" and "Vaccine Truth." I followed the latter, and checked which accounts Instagram now thought would be a good fit for me: another 24 accounts that were either explicitly against vaccinations in their profile description, or that posted anti-vaccine content.

They included pseudo-scientists claiming that vaccines cause autism; accounts with tens of thousands of followers promising the "truth" around vaccinations through memes and images of misleading statistics, as well as individual mothers spouting the perceived, but false, dangers of vaccinating children against measles, polio, and other diseases.
"Instagram told Motherboard it will be looking at different ways to minimize these sorts of recommendations," the article reports, but "did not give a more specific timeframe for this change...."

"For the moment, however, Instagram remains a hot bed of easy to discover misinformation on vaccinations."

21 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. Social media is the cancer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's endemic.

    1. Re:Social media is the cancer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Social media is always cancer. It is structurally cancer.

      You are a product of social media. You immediately tried to jam literally everything into a Ameri-centric left/right narrative. Your comment is typical of today's homogenized internet, but not the internet even 10 years ago.

    2. Re:Social media is the cancer by jeff4747 · · Score: 2

      Your comment is typical of today's homogenized internet, but not the internet even 10 years ago.

      The framing you complain about was endemic to the Internet for longer than the World Wide Web has existed. We had more-or-less the same comments on newsgroups.

      So no, 10 years ago wasn't better (or even 20 years ago). You were just less aware.

  2. "Pushed you in..." by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm sorry, it sounds like you deliberately went to this site for the sole purpose of finding this information yourself, so you could report on it for your publication.

    Am I missing something?

    1. Re:"Pushed you in..." by epyT-R · · Score: 5, Funny

      it's vice.. What did you expect? Real journalism?

    2. Re:"Pushed you in..." by sheramil · · Score: 4, Funny

      I went to 7:24 and it had Leia telling Darth Vader "The Imperial Senate will not sit still for this!"

  3. Well, all the platforms are quick to do that. by ruddk · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I was watching a video about the dismantling of Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant and then one about Sellafield and then YouTube started recommending a bunch of related videos.
    And I know this is what happens, so I am leary about watching a conspiracy theory video or an anti-vax video just to laugh at them because I YouTube then will start recommending more of that bullshit instantly. :D

    --
    L'Idiot
    1. Re:Well, all the platforms are quick to do that. by Miamicanes · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Part of the problem is that these services have too much blind faith in their ability to make predictions based upon incomplete knowledge. They REALLY need to come up with a way for users who end up pigeonholed and seeing endless recommendations for content to indicate, "Alright, enough already! I read a goddamn article about something while I was bored & taking a dump. Go back to recommending the kind of stuff I'm NORMALLY interested in."

      It's like the way TiVo used to be. A few years ago, my brother's family came down for a weekend. I recorded two episodes of a show for my niece & nephew. For the next 3 months, my Tivo was absolutely HELLBENT on endlessly recommending shows on Disney & Nickelodeon, despite the fact that I had about 40 open-ended scheduled recordings for shows that were about as close to being polar opposites of Disney & Nickelodeon kids' shows as you can get. It's like their algorithm said, "Oh, JOY!!!! Someone who now has small kids!!!! Now they're ensnared in the parent-industrial complex forever!!!"

    2. Re:Well, all the platforms are quick to do that. by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Part of the problem is that these services have too much blind faith in their ability to make predictions based upon incomplete knowledge.

      These services are making billions and users happily click on the recommendations. This problem won't be solved unless it is a) legally regulated, b) regulated by industry code of conduct, or c) users decide they want to play outside a rabbit hole. That last one clearly isn't happening.

      Go back to recommending the kind of stuff I'm NORMALLY interested in.

      The line of videos immediately under recommendations is from your subscriptions. It's easy to get back to normal viewing.

    3. Re:Well, all the platforms are quick to do that. by noodler · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "Part of the problem is that these services have too much blind faith in their ability to make predictions based upon incomplete knowledge. "

      You're seriously overthinking this which makes you conclude they are in some way contemplating their actions.
      They're not.
      All they do is shove more of the same shit you watched towards you. That's all they do.
      They don't care for the consequences. There is no 'faith' or 'prediction' involved.
      The algorithm can be sumerized in five words: More of the same shit.

    4. Re:Well, all the platforms are quick to do that. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      YouTube actually has that. You can click on the three little dots on the video and select "not interested", and then if you want there is a further option to "tell us why" which includes things like "not interested in X", "already seen this video", "not interested in this channel" and simply "didn't like this video".

      It does kinda work, the main issue is that it's not available on all platforms. Web and mobile support it, smart TVs and Android TV don't.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    5. Re: Well, all the platforms are quick to do that. by Evtim · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Clearing the viewing history really helps. With or without being subscribed. Freshly deleted YouTube non-subscribed only gives me viral and trending videos as well as the most popular videos in my region. So there's geo-location at work but that is all...

      BTW, I have yet to see one, even one loony video recommended to me....according to the crazies in the mainstream media I should have, since I follow "gateway to alt-right" personalities...

      This is non-story....unless you are peddling towards total authoritarian control.

  4. Instagram worked as designed by magzteel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Instagram's recommendations were consistent with the interests expressed. I fail to see what the problem is here.

    This may not be "fake news", but it is garbage.

    1. Re:Instagram worked as designed by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      The issue is that Instagram clearly knows that the person is interested in anti-vaxx bullshit, and instead of doing what most people would consider the moral thing and pointing them towards material debunking it, gives them more re-enforcement and helps fortify their bubble.

      If someone you claimed to care about said they were skeptical of vaccines, would you buy them a book about the dangers of vaccines for Christmas or try to point them towards the truth, for the sake of their kids and herd immunity if nothing else?

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  5. They should use PubMed by Krishnoid · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Too bad these sites don't provide preferential recommendations/promotions to accounts and posts that contain links to PubMed articles. If they're going to use these algorithms, they could certainly promote accounts that link to the original publication even if those accounts promote a conspiracy theory, that the research was real and is being suppressed, etc.

    That would at least get actual scientific research reports out front. If you can find anti-vax peer-reviewed research on PubMed, you go right ahead and link/share it. If you can't find it there because it's "being suppressed", find (and let the sites promote) any other sites that publish experimental research in any kind of refereed journal. It would hopefully get this information more in the open and at least cursorily examined for reputability and accuracy by people on the fence.

  6. What did you expect by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's showing adults what they ask to be shown. You told Instagram to show you Antivaxx content and it did show you antivaxx content. If it had told you "welcome to Instagram, check out these antivaxxers", then there would have been a problem.

  7. What?!? by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 2

    It Took 10 Seconds For Instagram To Push Me Into An Anti-Vaxx Rabbit Hole

    Being against pregnancy tests and good luck charms I can understand, but rabbits are against vaccines now? Feh... dumb bunnies.

    --
    Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
  8. Re:Slashdot - BigPharma Front Operation by youngone · · Score: 2

    Thanks for the helpful info A/C.
    I find your post has too few CAPS ONLY BITS and not enough reference to autism. Please try harder.

  9. The freedom to by AHuxley · · Score: 2

    Search.
    Read.
    Comment.
    Link.
    Share.
    Publish.
    With no gov, brand, NGO, think tank, Communist party, mil, cult, faith saying what is sinful.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  10. Re: Contaminated polio vaccine. by UnknowingFool · · Score: 3, Informative
    Except you left out the first paragraph:

    Early epidemiologic studies were inadequate in demonstrating an increase in cancer incidence associated with contaminated vaccine. Recently, investigators have provided persuasive evidence that SV40 is present in human ependymomas, choroid plexus tumors, bone tumors, and mesotheliomas, however, the etiologic role of the virus in tumorigenesis has not been established.

    Don't you think that's a bit dishonest if you leave out the first part.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  11. I was branded a Nazi... by Musical_Joe · · Score: 2

    For me, eBay made the most interesting "deduction" about my interests.

    I happened to be looking at silverware because for some reason I fancied buying some silver knives, until I realised how much they cost. From there I was led into silver coins, and saw a few I thought would look good in my display cabinet, so I decided to 'watch' the auctions. One of the coins happened to be German in origin, from the year 1939. The others were British; silver sixpences and suchlike.

    But a few days later, I received an e-mail from eBay that said something along the lines of "Joe, here's our latest Nazi Memorabilia just for you!"

    I just couldn't believe how quickly it had escalated. I half expected Simon Wiesenthal to turn up at my door...