WASHINGOTO: Instagram on Wednesday announced new measures to curb abusive and racist content on the image-centric social network, following an onslaught of hateful comments directed at UK footballers after the Euro 2020 final.
The Facebook-owned platform said it would start using “stronger warnings” when people post potentially offensive comments, and a new “hidden words” feature that enables users to filter abusive messages.
Instagram will also allow users to limit comments and message requests during “spikes of increased attention.”
The move comes weeks after social platforms scrambled to take down racially abusive comments directed at members of the England football team following a heartbreaking loss in the Euro 2020 final, which was played last month after a delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The racist and hateful content, which had prompted condemnation from British political leaders and the public, also led to pressure on the large US social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said the new measures were designed to reduce the spread of racist, sexist and homophobic content.
“Our research shows that a lot of negativity toward public figures comes from people who don’t actually follow them, or who have only recently followed them, and who simply pile on in the moment,” Mosseri said in a blog post.
“We saw this after the recent Euro 2020 final, which resulted in a significant — and unacceptable — spike in racist abuse toward players.”
Mosseri said users “tell us they don’t want to switch off comments and messages completely; they still want to hear from their community and build those relationships,” and that the new policy “allows you to hear from your long-standing followers, while limiting contact from people who might only be coming to your account to target you.”
Mosseri said the warnings already in place reduce the frequency of abusive comments by as much as 50 percent.
“We already show a warning when someone tries to post a potentially offensive comment,” he wrote.
“And if they try to post potentially offensive comments multiple times, we show an even stronger warning... Now, rather than waiting for the second or third comment, we’ll show this stronger message the first time.”
Instagram unveils new tools to reduce abuse, racist comments
https://arab.news/m5z3k
Instagram unveils new tools to reduce abuse, racist comments
- The Facebook-owned platform said it would start using "stronger warnings" when people post potentially offensive comments
- Instagram will allow users to limit comments and message requests during "spikes of increased attention"
KFC Arabia and TBWA\RAAD’s Saudi campaign wins big at TikTok Ad Awards 2025
DUBAI: TikTok announced the winners of the TikTok Ad Awards 2025 at a ceremony held at the King Abdullah Financial District Conference Center in Riyadh on Wednesday, celebrating advertising campaigns on the platform from across the Middle East.
The top honor, G.O.A.T. (“Greatest of All Time”), which celebrates the best overall campaign combining creativity, media performance and proven effectiveness, went to the Saudi campaign “Om Bdr — 12th Ingredient,” developed by TBWA\RAAD for KFC Arabia.
The campaign was born out of Saudi user behavior on TikTok, which saw users dusting a seasoning created by a local cook named Om Bdr onto their KFC chicken. Picking up on this trend, KFC partnered with Om Bdr, adding her seasoning as its unofficial 12th spice.
Instead of focusing on trends or virality, the brand listened to its audience and “made the creator a partner,” said Ahmed Arafa, chief marketing officer at KFC Arabia.
He added: “This campaign was about respecting where the idea came from, crediting the community that discovered it, and turning cultural momentum into something real. Om Bdr’s seasoning belonged on our menu because our customers put it there first.”
The campaign emphasized authenticity, moving away from high-production studio shoots to filming inside actual KFC outlets, with minimal setup and featuring Om Bdr as herself.
As a result, KFC Arabia recorded its highest sales mix to date, while Om Bdr sold out of her own seasoning following the campaign.
“Om Bdr — 12th Ingredient” also won Gold in the Goal Digger category, which celebrates work that delivers measurable results, and Silver in the Community Core category, which highlights campaigns driven by creator and community collaborations.
The two firms also collaborated on another campaign, “Nuggets — Nugg it. Dip it. Crunch it.”, which ran across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, and won Bronze in the Sound On category.
The campaign centered on a looping audio track paired with videos focusing on picking, dipping and eating a nugget.
TikTok said the campaign promoted creator participation, with users adapting and reworking the audio in ways that felt native to the platform.
Saudi-based creative agency Habbar’s campaign, “14 Feb: Judgement Day!”, for online gift delivery service Floward, won Silver in the Goal Digger category.
The campaign took a humor-led approach to reflect the pressure and last-minute decision-making often associated with Valentine’s Day gifting, using creator collaborations and video formats designed to encourage sharing and commenting.
Other notable campaigns included “My Like First” by Lux, which ran in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and won Gold in the Community Core category, as well as “How I Crunch It” by Bugles, created by MRM and UM, which won Bronze in the Sound On category.
“The Ad Awards winners of this year show what’s possible when brands embrace TikTok not just as a media platform, but as a creative canvas,” said Shadi Kandil, general manager of global business solutions for the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa, Central and South Asia at TikTok.
