---
title: "Instagram Wants to Fact-Check Your Memes"
description: "Facebook announced that it plans to extend its fact-checking program to Instagram, but it's not clear that checking memes will accomplish anything."
date: "2019-08-16"
modified: "2019-08-16"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/instagram-fact-check-memes"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "facebook"
  - "instagram"
  - "the digest"
---

# Instagram Wants to Fact-Check Your Memes

![Facebook announced that it plans to extend its fact-checking program to Instagram, but it's not clear that checking memes will accomplish anything.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/instagram-fact-check-memes.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Zooming Out

Facebook wants to expand its fact-checking initiative to Instagram, claiming that [it will investigate](<https://futurism.com/facebook-mining-instagram-photos>) memes and posts that spread misinformation.

But it probably won't work out as well as the company claims, [*Wired* ](<https://www.wired.com/story/instagram-fact-checks-who-will-do-checking/>)[reports](<https://www.wired.com/story/instagram-fact-checks-who-will-do-checking/>), as the Facebook fact-checking program was already spread too thin. And trying to validate the accuracy and intentions of Instagram posts requires more context and cultural knowledge than [existing Facebook moderators](<https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18229714/cognizant-facebook-content-moderator-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizona>) probably have.

## Seven Layers Of Irony

Experts who spoke to *Wired* said that groups spreading propaganda on social media are likely too organized and nimble to be stopped by overworked fact-checkers.

"Facebook did not ever scale the fact-checking program on Facebook to be able to reach all users and all information on Facebook," Robyn Caplan, a Rutgers University social media governance expert, told *Wired*. "I'm not quite certain how they're going to scale to Instagram effectively."

**READ MORE:** [INSTAGRAM NOW FACT-CHECKS, BUT WHO WILL DO THE CHECKING?](<https://www.wired.com/story/instagram-fact-checks-who-will-do-checking/>) \[*Wired*\]

**More on social media:** *[So, Yeah: Facebook Is Mining Your Instagram Photos, Too](<https://futurism.com/facebook-mining-instagram-photos>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)