For many of us, Instagram has become an integral part of our lives. It shapes our conversations, informs us and, for young people especially, plays a formative role in shaping world views. However, my personal experience, and that of many others, has revealed a glaring issue. Instagram's algorithms tend to push the most negative, hateful and sometimes violent comments to the top of comment sections, especially on Instagram Reels. This not only spreads harmful ideologies but also normalizes them, especially to young people.

Imagine, a young person using Instagram as their window to the world, constantly viewing top comments indicating violent, misogynistic, racist, and pedophilic intentions. These comments often wrongly remain undeleted or moderated by Instagram despite numerous reports. The result is a social media environment where these hateful comments go unchecked with peak visibility and harmful rhetoric promoting violence, sexual assault, racism, misogyny, and etc. is promoted.

Instagram's active user base reaches 2 billion people monthly. More than half of this number are young people, navigating their adolescence and forming their core values. Given this, it is simply unacceptable for such toxic interactions to be part of their daily experience.

The crux of the problem lies primarily with the company's seemingly lenient comment moderation policies. It's time Instagram makes a concerted effort to create a more respectful, safe digital space for its users - particularly its young, susceptible audience.

This petition urges Instagram to enhance their platform with effective, stringent mechanisms that detect and promptly block hateful and violent comments. Join me in demanding Instagram to take its responsibility seriously. Please sign and share this petition. Hold Instagram accountable for creating a safe online community.