Overview

The 2024 Instagram Inappropriate Content Glitch and Freaky Update refer to a reported glitch on Instagram that happened in July 2024, resulting in explicit NSFW content going unchecked by the site's moderation and appearing on the recommended Explore pages for many users. Many blamed a new Instagram update that was released beforehand, calling the update "freaky" akin to Freaky 👅 memes. The queries "Why is Instagram freaky?" and "What's wrong with Instagram?" surfaced en masse on July 18th and 19th, 2024, coinciding with the glitch that was purported by many TikTok, Twitter / X and Reddit users.

Background

On July 18th, 2024, X^[1] user @meriesofyee alleged that their Instagram feed was showing them NSFW content, writing, "Did instagram turn into pornhub for y’all too wtf???" receiving over 93,000 likes in less than a day (shown below).

As of July 19th, 2024, there has been no official announcement from Instagram about the purported glitch. However, after @meriesofyee's tweet, many corroborated their account via viral posts, replies and quotes.

Online Reactions

As stated, viral reactions corroborated the tweet from @meriesofyee, like a reply shared by X^[2] user @brilynnefaithh on July 18th, 2024, who said, "I done seen a girl getting her meow ate🫤," gaining over 5,000 likes in less than a day (shown below, left). Other X^[3][4] users shared explicit screen recordings of their Instagram feeds in the tweet's replies.

Also on July 18th, X^[5] user @egypxt tweeted about seeing explicit content on her Instagram, gaining over 4,900 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Memes using reaction videos also surfaced, like one tweet shared by X^[6] user @averyseesmovies on July 18th, 2024, that captioned a Sabrina Brier video, "me opening instagram and immediately getting flashed," gaining over 29,000 likes in less than a day (shown below).

me opening instagram and immediately getting flashed pic.twitter.com/enQsOsFHH3

— avery (@averyseesmovies) July 19, 2024

Similar reactions to the glitch surfaced on TikTok during the same timeframe. For instance, on July 18th, 2024, TikToker^[7] @okayyy.tiara posted a POV meme about "Me opening my Instagram today," amassing over 6.3 million plays and 1.4 million likes in less than a day (shown below, left).

Others on TikTok blamed the new Instagram update for the glitch, like TikToker^[8] @jennettemccvrdy on July 18th, who joked, "me after gooning all day to those posts on instagram after the new update," receiving over 183,800 plays and 32,700 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Many called the glitch "freaky" referencing the 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 meme trend, such as TikToker^[9] @p7inkiepi3 on July 18th, 2024, who asked in all caps, "YALL WHY IS MY INSTAGRAM BEING EXTRA FREAKY TODAY????" receiving over 22,000 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Similar discourse about the glitch surfaced on Reddit's /r/Instagram^[10] subreddit during the same timeframe.

Various Reactions

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References