In the context of narcissistic abuse, victims may adopt some of the manipulative, controlling, or harmful tactics they endured, often as a coping mechanism or a defense mechanism. It’s important to note that this behavior is not a reflection of the victim’s inherent character but rather a learned response to the abusive dynamics they experienced.In 2015, I discovered over 1 million of explicit content on Instagram hidden with Arabic hashtags. Inspired by Miley Cyrus rereleasing Wrecking Ball, I decided to do the same, so Today, I revisited this discovery to check if Explicit Content on Instagram is prisisting.
This article revisits the issue of explicit content hidden on Instagram in 2023, with the aim of raising awareness and encouraging further action to address this concerning reality.
Table of Contents
Explicit Content on Instagram: Backstory
2015
In the ever-evolving realm of social media, our story begins in 2015 when a discovery unveiled a hidden world of explicit videos and photos on Instagram, concealed behind Arabic hashtags.
I began my investigation by searching for Instagram posts tagged with the Arabic word for ‘film.’ To my surprise, I found millions of explicit content hidden behind this seemingly innocent hashtag. At the time, Instagram was in the midst of enhancing its content moderation system, but my initial article addressing the issue remained largely overlooked.
2016
Fast forward to 2016, I revisited the matter and published an updated version of the article as a video, subsequently sharing it on my YouTube channel. Instagram had taken some steps to block hashtags associated with explicit content, but users found ways to circumvent these blocks. For example, adding underscores or other symbols to alter the hashtags.
Daily star picks up the article
This video gained substantial attention and managed to capture the interest of the British tabloid newspaper, the Daily Star.
Following the Daily Star’s coverage, the story was picked up by various other media outlets, and it quickly went viral. The article was covered in over 55+ publications including Times of India, news.com.au , ibtimes uk, FirstPost, yahoo and askmen.
In response to the public outcry, Instagram blocked some hashtags and removed some of the explicit content.
2023’s update
Fast-forwarding to the present day, in November 2023, As I reopened UltGate today, I couldn’t help but reflect on the past. The curiosity led me to revisit this issue, not with the aim of providing an update, but rather to look back at the viral article that shook the online world.
To gauge the current situation, I conducted searches using the Arabic word for ‘sexy,’ both with an underscore and without it. To my surprise, the results included pornographic videos once again, without sensitive content warnings.
This indicates that the challenge of explicit content on Instagram continues to be a concern.
