On February 26, 2025, Instagram users around the world started seeing violent and explicit videos in their Reels feed. Even people who had the highest level of Sensitive Content Control enabled found disturbing videos showing up unexpectedly. Many took to social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit to complain. They were confused and upset, wondering why Instagram was showing them such content.

Meta Fixes the Issue and Apologizes

After receiving thousands of complaints, Meta, the company that owns Instagram, admitted there was a mistake. A spokesperson for Meta said, "We fixed an error that caused inappropriate content to appear in Instagram Reels. We are sorry for the mistake."

Instagram has strict rules against showing extreme violence and explicit content. However, this error let a lot of disturbing material slip through. This made people question whether Instagram’s filters were working properly.

Interestingly, a similar issue happened on the exact same date in 2023. That time, users also saw violent and shocking videos in their feed without following such content. This strange coincidence has made some people wonder if there is a deeper problem with Instagram’s recommendation system.

Instagram’s Changing Policies and Staff Layoffs

This issue happened shortly after Meta changed its content moderation policies. On January 7, 2025, Meta announced it would focus more on major violations like terrorism, scams, and child exploitation, while being less strict on other types of content.

At the same time, Meta has been cutting staff. Between 2022 and 2023, the company laid off over 21,000 employees, including many who worked on content moderation. Some believe these job cuts have made it harder for Instagram to properly manage content.

Even though Meta says the problem is now fixed, many users still worry about the safety of social media platforms. This incident has sparked a new debate about whether Instagram and other platforms are doing enough to protect users from harmful content. It also serves as a reminder that disturbing content can sometimes appear unexpectedly, making it important for users to stay cautious while using social media.