Instagram rampant with toxic comments directed at female politicians, study finds

Meta is being blamed for allowing thousands of abusive comments directed towards female politicians to remain on its Instagram platform during the 2024 election cycle.

That’s according to a new bombshell report released Wednesday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a British non-profit aimed at preventing the spread of online hate and disinformation.

The 31-page CCDH research report, titled Abusing Women in Politics, found that Meta’s Instagram failed to remove a massive 93% of the abusive comments targeting high-profile women politicians.

Shockingly, the social media commentary, or more accurately “hate speech,” was found to target public figures using sexist and racist language, even threatening the women with rape and/or death.

Offensive examples pulled from Instagram included the following comments:

• “We don’t want blacks around us no matter who they are.”
• “Hope someone leaves you for a dead in a ditch.”
• “Make Rape Legal”
• “Death to her and her supporters”

Many of the female politicians were identified as US candidates running in the upcoming November elections, including from both the Democrat and Republican political parties.

High-profile names, such as current US Vice President Kamala Harris, and former Speaker of the House, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, were just two of the seasoned politicians subjected to nearly 1,000 extreme and abusive comments in 2024.

Other recognizable names in the study included Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, as well as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

In total, the research found and analyzed over 20,000 loathsome comments, identifying the subset of 1,000, as being the most vulgar.

“In a diner, town hall meeting, or political rally, we would not tolerate violent, racist, or misogynistic slurs being hurled at a woman seeking to serve in public office. Yet, on Instagram, an abuser can barrage a woman with rape and death threats and can continue to use the platform with impunity.”

- Imran Ahmed, CEO at Center for Countering Digital Hate

Out of the 20,000 comments, the study found that over 1 in 25 replies were labeled as 'toxic,' which was defined in the report as "rude, disrespectful, or unreasonable." Furthermore, it was discovered that one-fifth of all the comments were made by "repeat offenders."

The CCDH said it reported the hateful comments to Instagram, but by the following week, only 74 of the disturbing posts – out of 1000 – had been taken down by the platform.

“In a diner, town hall meeting, or political rally, we would not tolerate violent, racist, or misogynistic slurs being hurled at a woman seeking to serve in public office,” said CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed.

“Yet, on Instagram, an abuser can barrage a woman with rape and death threats and can continue to use the platform with impunity,” Ahmed said, adding that “nothing changes if the platforms refuse to act.”

Report highlights larger problems with online gender abuse

According to New York University Law School’s Brennan Center for Justice, in the 2020 US Congressional elections, black female candidates were the most likely to receive sexist, racist, and violent abuse online.

The Center also found that overall, 43% of women politicians on the state level have experienced threats or abuse online as well.

What’s more, roughly the same number of women said they were unwilling to seek reelection or higher office because of it.

The CCDH believes that platforms like Instagram become lax about removing content because social media “algorithms reward hyper-emotive content and the engagement it generates, with amplification and visibility.”

Additionally, over 40% of young women in 2016 said they censored themselves on social media platforms to avoid online harassment, according to a Data & Society study of females ages 15-29 years, cited in the study.

The CCDH, with offices in both London and Washington DC, is calling on Instagram to "properly enforce its guidelines and stop enabling violent online behavior."

In the end, the digital rights organization said it's the lawmakers who must step forward and hold the online platforms accountable for their failure to protect women.

In response to the report, Meta said it has tools in place for users to control comments on their posts, including filtering out offensive comments, phrases, or emojis, Reuters reported.

"We will review the CCDH report and take action on any content that violates our policies," said Meta’s Head of Women's Safety Cindy Southworth.

You can read the full report here.