Thursday 28 July 2022 11:00 PM Users slam Instagram for asking them to specify their ethnicity trends now
Instagram is under fire for rolling out a survey that asks 'a random assortment of people' about their race and ethnicity, as some people speculate it is a way for the government to quietly conduct mass race surveys.
Instagram says the survey will help them build a fair and inclusive platform
However, the Meta-owned platform said Thursday that the data will help them better understand how different communities use the platform and how its technology may impact different groups.
A pop-up will appear in the app that leads to the optional survey hosted by YouGov, which will encrypt and split submissions into parts before storing them at research institutions.
In the blog post, Instagram notes it will only have access to aggregated information, meaning it 'can't connect people or their Instagram accounts to their individual responses.'
However, it seems the social media's promise is not enough to earn the public's trust – some shared their frustrations on Twitter saying 'do not be fooled.'
And some may not fault the public for being skeptical of Instagram's motives, as it was ranked the number app in 2021 that shares user data with third parties and Facebook came trolling behind in second.
'Welcome to woke racism, when our own Gov, sworn in allegiance to our Equality before God, partners with the far left employees of Instagram to conduct mass race surveys. I hope you know what's coming in Nov Dems,' reads a tweet shared by the user Pyramadis.
A pop-up will appear in the app that leads to the optional survey hosted by YouGov, which will encrypt and split submissions into parts before storing them at research institutions
Another user, by the name of Paresh Vyas, tweeted: 'ALERT !!! Instagram will begin to ask questions to users about Race & Ethnicity . Is It because they don't want white conservative users ? DO NOT BE DECEIVED.'
However, other users are not faced by the survey and are more concerned with the fact that Instagram is 'trying to be like TikTok,' which was a statement also made by Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian Tuesday.
Regardless of what people think about the survey, Instagram appears to be excited to learn more from different communities and is working with Texas Southern University, University of Central Florida, Northeastern University, and Oasis Labs as partner research institutions.
Instagram hopes this uncovers any necessary changes needed to promote fairness.
However, it seems the social media's promise is not enough to earn the public's trust. One users thinks Instagram and the government are in cohorts to collect a mass race survey
'For example,
