Instagram is informing people about the animal abuse behind the “cute” animal selfies that are posted on a daily basis by creating a hashtag pop-up message.
Instagram is taking a stand against animal abuse and informing its 800 million users about what really happens behind the scenes of their “cute” animal selfies.
This isn’t a first for social media, in July this year Tinder, the dating app, banned Tiger selfies. Social media platforms are starting to make big changes that help educate the public about their actions and interactions with wildlife.
Instagram has very popular hashtags involving wildlife and many will now trigger a pop-up notification that contains information about what really happens behind the scenes of wildlife selfies.
“Animal abuse and the sale of endangered animals or their parts is not allowed on Instagram. You are searching for a hashtag that may be associated with posts that encourage harmful behaviour to animals or the environment”
The message then has three prompts – you can click to learn more, show the posts you were looking for or cancel the action altogether. Should you click to learn more, you are directed to a help centre that shares much more detailed information about wildlife exploitation.
“We care about our community, including the animals and the wildlife that are an important part of the platform,”
“I think it’s important for the community right now to be more aware. We’re trying to do our part to educate them.” – Emily Cain, Instagram spokeswoman.
“If someone’s behaviour is interrupted, hopefully, they’ll think, Maybe there’s something more here, or maybe I shouldn’t just automatically like something or forward something or repost something if Instagram is saying to me there’s a problem with this photo.” – Cassandra Koenen, head of wildlife campaigns at World Animal Protection
We are happy to see the popular photo app using its platform to make a change!
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