Instagram cracks down on Photoshopped pictures
Instagram has begun flagging images that it detects to have been digitally altered to represent “false information,” TechRadar reports.
However, this system is reportedly including Photoshopped images that have been edited for creative reasons.
If a post is flagged, Instagram makes it more difficult to find by filtering it from the Explore and Hashtags menus.
These posts are still visible within feeds and on user pages, but when another user attempts to open them in full-screen mode, they may receive the following warning:
“False Information – Reviewed by independent fact-checkers.”
Users can then elect to see why the post was flagged or to view the post anyway.
Photographer Toby Harriman suggested that the move could end up hurting the proliferation of digital art.
“Interesting to see this and curious if it’s a bit too far,” said Harriman.
“As much as I do love it to help better associate real vs Photoshop. I also have huge respect for digital art and don’t want to have to click through barriers to see it.”
Fighting fake news
This is not the first time that Instagram has attempted to address concerns regarding fake news on its platform.
It rolled out a feature in August 2019 which allowed US users to report false information.
These reports are used to determine whether posts should be reviewed by third-party fact-checkers.
Users can flag content they believe is fake news on Instagram by reporting the post as “inappropriate” and selecting “false information” as an option.
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