Leaked Instagram Document Reveals Creator Concerns Surrounding Discrimination, Monetization and More

Creators have been quite vocal about the changes that Instagram has often made to the platform in the past, with one of the most prominent examples of that being when Instagram ceased allowing people to share posts from their feed in their Instagram Stories. A lot of creators were upset about this because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up preventing them from raising awareness about a wide range of social justice issues that would not have otherwise ended up seeing the light of day.

It turns out that creators on Instagram have far more concerns than just that, and Instagram is aware of these issues too according to documents that the platform submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The document comprises of a report that Instagram created for the commission where it discusses user problems and the like, and it appears that the platform is unable or perhaps unwilling to make some of the changes that users are asking for.

According to the report, many creators that belong to ethnic minorities and the like have complained about being demonetized and not really being given a good reason for why this ended up happening to them. The report also outlined how issues with Instagram Shopping as well as the algorithm that governs the platform end up making it such a hostile place for a wide range of users that are currently out there, with creators in particular falling by the wayside due to Instagram’s inability to cater to their needs in a reasonable enough manner.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Instagram has released an equity report previously, more specifically in April on 2021. None of these concerns appear to have been mentioned in that report, and it is only when this report that was made for congress was leaked that the state of creators on the platform ended up being address in the public eye. While a lot of the sources in the document have been redacted for the sake of privacy as well as because it might contain privileged information, the things that these sources are saying might be concerning for a number of Instagram creators.

The report directly says “Instagram does not support creators”, so it is clear that Instagram has at least some type of knowledge about the issue. Half the report was dedicated to creator problems and the like, and that means that a number of users might start leaving the platform en masse if these issues are not resolved as quickly as they possibly can be.

Instagram is a thriving ecosystem for creators, but that does not necessarily mean that it would continue to be this way. Recent changes that have been made are stifling creativity as well as the platform’s ability to facilitate social justice movements and the like. Instagram absolutely needs to step up in order to better understand where things can go from here, because it won’t be long before these concerns around monetization and the like start to come back to haunt them in a way that would be difficult to ignore.

Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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