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Instagram hides some posts mentioning abortion with ‘sensitive content’ label

  • After accounts run by abortion rights advocacy groups found their stories hidden, the Meta-owned platform described the issue as a ‘bug’
  • This comes after Facebook and Instagram were found to be deleting posts that offered to mail out abortion pills in US states that restrict their use

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The Instagram app icon on the screen of a mobile device in New York on August 23, 2019. Photo: AP
Instagram is blocking posts that mention abortion from public view, in some cases requiring its users to confirm their age before letting them view posts that offer up information about the procedure.

Over the last day, several Instagram accounts run by abortion rights advocacy groups have found their posts or stories hidden with a warning that described the posts as “sensitive content”. Instagram said it was working to fix the problem Tuesday, describing it as a “bug”.

In one example, Instagram covered a post on a page with more than 25,000 followers that shared text reading: “Abortion in America How You Can Help”. The post went on to encourage followers to donate money to abortion organizations and to protest the US Supreme Court’s decision to strip constitutional protections for abortion.

The post was slapped with a warning from Instagram that covered the post, reading “This photo may contain graphic or violent content”.

Boxes of the drug mifepristone line a shelf at the West Alabama Women’s Center in the city of Tuscaloosa on March 16, 2022. Facebook and Instagram have begun promptly removing posts that offer abortion pills to women who may not be able to access them following a US Supreme Court decision that stripped away constitutional protections for the procedure. Photo: AP
Boxes of the drug mifepristone line a shelf at the West Alabama Women’s Center in the city of Tuscaloosa on March 16, 2022. Facebook and Instagram have begun promptly removing posts that offer abortion pills to women who may not be able to access them following a US Supreme Court decision that stripped away constitutional protections for the procedure. Photo: AP
Instagram’s latest snafu follows an Associated Press report that Facebook and Instagram were promptly deleting posts that offered to mail out abortion pills in states that restrict their use. The tech platforms said they were deleting the posts because they violated policies against selling or gifting certain products, including pharmaceuticals, drugs and firearms.

Yet, the AP’s review found that similar posts offering to mail a gun or marijuana were not removed by Facebook. The company did not respond to questions about the discrepancy.

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