Instagram wants its users to deal with ‘fake news’

Instagram users in America will now have the option to combat the spread of misinformation.

The Facebook owned app is going to release an update in which users will have the option of reporting posts that are false, abusive and rampant with misinformation. So if you click on the ‘Explore’ tab and see something messed up while scrolling down mindlessly through your feed, you can report it.

Facebook already has this feature to weed out fake news and looks to roll this on Instagram too, initially only for its U.S users.

“This is an initial step as we work towards a more comprehensive approach to tackling misinformation,” as per a Facebook spokesperson.

The reason for this update is to protect the app from Russians and spammers and phishers otherwise known as ‘trolls’ who have been spreading misinformation and allegedly played a big role in the 2016 elections. Now with Facebook plummeting and Instagram showing growth in engagement, Russians would want to exploit this opportunity and are increasingly moving to Instagram.

Facebook has already implemented image detection on Instagram earlier this May and the addition of this feature will only bolster its content quality on its app.