Report: Hate Speech Finds Home On Instagram

Instagram is increasingly becoming a home for hate speech and hoaxes, even as its parent company Facebook works to stamp out troublesome content ahead of the midterms, reports The Hill.

Instagram has long been viewed as free from the toxic atmosphere seen on other social media platforms, with users regularly posting photos of family, pets and travel to their personal followers.

But as the midterms near experts say a number of accounts are proliferating conspiracy theories, including about billionaire Democratic donor George Soros funding a migrant caravan headed to the U.S. and attempted bombings of prominent Democrats being a false flag.

Facebook says it is making strides to crack down on misinformation on its own platform, but critics say the company's efforts have forgotten about Instagram.

"Instagram right now is completely overrun with hate speech and propaganda memes. It's possibly the worst I've ever seen, and only a few days before the election," social media researcher Jonathan Albright told The Hill.

In recent weeks as the migrant caravan and pipe bombs dominated the news, Albright's research found misinformation spreading across the platform. He tracked a growing number of posts spreading conspiracy theories that Soros was behind the caravan and controlling other movements such as NFL players kneeling during the anthem to protest racial injustice.

Albright said the ease in finding hate speech on Instagram was unprecedented compared to how tightly Twitter and Facebook police their content.