Instagram Takes Measures to Combat Fake News

Following the lead of its parent company Facebook, social media platform Instagram has instituted several action steps to better protect its 700 million users from fake news, per a CNBC article.

In an effort to deter and eliminate what chief technology officer Mike Krieger referred to as “bad actors” from the social media platform, Instagram is rolling out new security measures that include requiring large accounts request verification to designate themselves as ‘official.’ Currently, accounts receive ‘blue checks’ automatically when their following reaches a certain threshold.

Instagram is adding an ‘About this Account’ feature to reveal more relevant account information like username changes and location of operation to prevent the spread of misinformation. It will also permit the use of third-party authenticator apps like Duo Mobile and Google Authenticator.

“We’ve been focused on the safety of our platform since the very beginning, and today’s updates build upon our existing tools, such as our spam and abusive content filters and the ability to report or block accounts,” Krieger said in a blog post.