Instagram apologizes for promoting diets to users with eating disorders

Instagram has issued an apology to users for inadvertently promoting weight-loss content to potentially impressionable users, particularly those with eating disorders.

Advocates called out the app for carelessly suggesting terms such as “appetite suppressants” and “fasting” through the Instagram Explore search engine, which may put vulnerable users at risk of developing or relapsing eating disorders. The social platform claims that these harmful phrases have been removed since Monday, telling the BBC it was a “mistake” in their algorithm.