We collect cookies to analyze our website traffic and performance; we never collect any personal data. Cookie Policy
Accept
NEW YORK DAWN™NEW YORK DAWN™NEW YORK DAWN™
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • Trending
  • New York
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
  • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Art
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Reading: For Prominent Women on Instagram, DMs Can Be a Cesspool of Misogyny
Share
Font ResizerAa
NEW YORK DAWN™NEW YORK DAWN™
Search
  • Home
  • Trending
  • New York
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Real Estate
  • Crypto & NFTs
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Art
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
Follow US
NEW YORK DAWN™ > Blog > Technology > For Prominent Women on Instagram, DMs Can Be a Cesspool of Misogyny
For Prominent Women on Instagram, DMs Can Be a Cesspool of Misogyny
Technology

For Prominent Women on Instagram, DMs Can Be a Cesspool of Misogyny

Last updated: April 7, 2022 1:37 pm
Editorial Board Published April 7, 2022
Share
SHARE
06xp harrassment facebookJumbo

A look into the private direct messages of five prominent women on Instagram found a torrent of harassment, including pornographic images and threats of physical and sexual violence, while the perpetrators typically faced little to no consequences, according to a new report released Wednesday.

The report, by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, an international nonprofit, was far from the first to identify the urgent need for social media titans to take further steps to curb harassment on their platforms. Many women using Instagram — especially those with large followings — have consistently reported feeling unsafe, and advocates say the relentless harassment threatens to cut women off from one of the world’s most popular online platforms.

But in opening up their thousands of incoming private messages to researchers, the five high-profile women allowed for a deep analysis of the misogyny they face out of public view, and how one tech company handles it. Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the nonprofit, wrote that Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, “created an environment where abuse and harmful content is allowed to thrive.”

“The intended effect of the abuse and the trauma of its constant barrage is simple: to drive women off platforms, out of public life, and to further marginalize their voices,” he said.

In a statement, Instagram disputed the conclusions of the report and pointed to measures it had taken to limit harassment. Users can filter out specific words from DMs and comments, turn off the ability of strangers to send DMs, or hide comments and DMs from users who either don’t follow or have recently followed them. It blurs images sent in DMs by people who don’t follow you in an effort to hide unwanted sexual images, and removes a wide range of abusive content.

“While we disagree with many of the C.C.D.H.’s conclusions, we do agree that the harassment of women is unacceptable,” Cindy Southworth, Meta’s head of women’s safety, said in a statement. “That’s why we don’t allow gender-based hate or any threat of sexual violence, and last year we announced stronger protections for female public figures.”

By the report’s telling, Instagram’s policies were unable to protect the five women from a wide array of misogyny and threats.

The women represented a range of public figures, variously prominent in entertainment, activism and journalism. Amber Heard, an actress, has 4.1 million followers, while Jamie Klinger, an activist who co-founded the Reclaim These Streets group after the death of Sarah Everard in London last year, has about 3,500 followers. The group also included Rachel Riley, a TV show host in Britain; Bryony Gordon, a journalist and author; and Sharan Dhaliwal, founder of the South Asian culture magazine Burnt Roti.

When messages are sent by someone you don’t follow, they’re cast aside into a side folder labeled “Requests.” For female public figures, it tends to be a cesspool.

The report found that in 8,717 DMs analyzed, about one in 15 broke Instagram’s rules on abuse and harassment, including 125 examples of image-based sexual abuse.

“On Instagram, anyone can privately send you something that should be illegal,” Ms. Riley said in the report. “If they did it on the street, they’d be arrested.”

In studying the accounts that sent abusive messages, 227 of 253 remained active at least a month after they were reported. Forty-eight hours after they were reported, 99.6 percent of the accounts remained online. (Instagram said accounts temporarily lose the ability to send direct messages after a first strike, and are banned after a number of additional offenses it did not disclose.)

The report argued for stronger regulation, accusing Big Tech companies of being unable to regulate themselves. Their commitments to halting harassment were without teeth and secondary to the goal of profit, the report said.

In the meantime, women were left to work out their own coping strategies. Some choose to not engage with the direct messages, but Ms. Klinger said that was not an option for her, since she sometimes gets press requests to speak about her activism.

Ms. Heard said the experience, and the inability to do much about it, had increased her paranoia, indignation and frustration.

“Social media is how we connect with one another today and that medium is pretty much off limits to me,” she said in the report. “That’s the sacrifice I made, the compromise, the deal I made for my mental health.”

You Might Also Like

Glass Imaging raises $20M to make use of AI to enhance digital picture high quality

From silicon to sentience: The legacy guiding AI’s subsequent frontier and human cognitive migration

MCP and the innovation paradox: Why open requirements will save AI from itself

Effective-tuning vs. in-context studying: New analysis guides higher LLM customization for real-world duties

Typical Gamer’s JOGO doubles down on UEFN maps with acquisition of RHQ Inventive

TAGGED:CyberharassmentDiscriminationInstagram IncInstant MessagingMeta Platforms IncSexual HarassmentSocial MediaThe Washington MailWomen and Girls
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print

Follow US

Find US on Social Medias
FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
YoutubeSubscribe
TelegramFollow
Popular News
Transcript of President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress
Politics

Transcript of President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress

Editorial Board March 5, 2025
Yankees’ Aaron Boone says ‘a lot more’ goes into torpedo bats than merely shopping for one
Artist Graham Nickson, Who Led New York Studio College, Dies at 79
City of Philadelphia Will Reinstate an Indoor Mask Mandate
Training Division cuts half its workers as Trump vows to dismantle company

You Might Also Like

What your instruments miss at 2:13 AM: How gen AI assault chains exploit telemetry lag – Half 1
Technology

What your instruments miss at 2:13 AM: How gen AI assault chains exploit telemetry lag – Half 1

May 9, 2025
Henk Rogers’ actual story behind Tetris, the Excellent Sport | The DeanBeat
Technology

Henk Rogers’ actual story behind Tetris, the Excellent Sport | The DeanBeat

May 9, 2025
OpenAI’s B Windsurf transfer: the actual purpose behind its enterprise AI code push
Technology

OpenAI’s $3B Windsurf transfer: the actual purpose behind its enterprise AI code push

May 9, 2025
Zencoder launches Zen Brokers, ushering in a brand new period of team-based AI for software program improvement
Technology

Zencoder launches Zen Brokers, ushering in a brand new period of team-based AI for software program improvement

May 9, 2025

Categories

  • Health
  • Sports
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • World
  • Art

About US

New York Dawn is a proud and integral publication of the Enspirers News Group, embodying the values of journalistic integrity and excellence.
Company
  • About Us
  • Newsroom Policies & Standards
  • Diversity & Inclusion
  • Careers
  • Media & Community Relations
  • Accessibility Statement
Contact Us
  • Contact Us
  • Contact Customer Care
  • Advertise
  • Licensing & Syndication
  • Request a Correction
  • Contact the Newsroom
  • Send a News Tip
  • Report a Vulnerability
Term of Use
  • Digital Products Terms of Sale
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Settings
  • Submissions & Discussion Policy
  • RSS Terms of Service
  • Ad Choices
© 2024 New York Dawn. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?