The Washington PostThe Washington Post

Instagram users are being served gory videos of killing and torture

By Taylor Lorenz

26 Feb 2023 · 9 min read

Editor's Note

Meme page accounts run by teens routinely feature gory content that's being amplified on Instagram via Reels. The Washington Post reports on business models that make this possible.

LOS ANGELES - Kristoffer Reinman, a 32-year-old music producer and investor, was scrolling through Instagram last fall when he began to encounter violent videos - videos of people being shot and mutilated, posted by accounts he said he doesn't follow.

"It was gory stuff, torture videos, stuff you just don't want to see," Reinman said. "Violent videos, they just started showing up. I was like, what is this? It's nothing that I follow myself." Feeling disturbed and disgusted, he immediately logged onto chat app Discord to tell his friends what was happening.

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