37-year-old starts experiment that reveals the reasons behind Instagram

The artist Kim Hoss posts photos with beauty filters. In a very short time she gets an enormous reach. To what extent is Meta’s algorithm behind this?

I quickly forgot that I follow Kim Hoss on Instagram. Then on August 13, the artist reappeared on my homepage. Only she looked different: perfect like a doll and less like a human. Anyone who uses Instagram can see that she uses a beauty filter. They then posted edited photos and videos on several consecutive days.

Instagram seems to be less focused on feminist content

Many people who follow Hoss on Instagram had the same experience as me. “It’s just so crazy how often I see you now. Before, I had to search more often,” commented one follower on a post. In it, Hoss explains that she deliberately used the filters as an experiment.

The 37-year-old says she has been earning money with Instagram since 2018. She educates people about topics such as body positivity and toxic masculinity. She did not use filters during this time. “I noticed that my reach decreased the more feminist my content became,” she says. BuzzFeed News Germany from IPPEN.MEDIA.

“This experiment was born out of anger”

Fewer views mean fewer collaborations for influencers. An advertising partner is said to have almost ended its collaboration with Hoss in mid-August 2024 because not enough people had seen her posts. That made her angry. “This experiment was born out of anger,” she says.

And it works: instead of around 3,000 views (number of people who see photos on Instagram) on her stories, she has over 17,000 after a week, as before and after screenshots prove. It seems as if Instagram is showing off her photos more because she uses beauty filters.

Hoss is sure that she has it “in her own hands,” which gives her an “uncomfortable feeling.” “I know how the algorithm works and I can play it or fool it.”

The organization believes it is likely that Instagram photos with beauty filters will be prioritized

Are you right? BuzzFeed News Germany asked the organization Algorithm Watch, which has investigated Instagram’s algorithm. Spokeswoman Naiara Bellio said said they do not have precise information about how the app prioritizes content. But: “To increase user activity, the algorithm could favor images of women that they have created with certain filters.”

We confront Meta, which Instagram belongs to. The company refers to its guidelines. It states that a single algorithm is not responsible for what users see on Instagram. Instead, various signals are responsible for how often the post is displayed. For example, how popular it is or what interests the users have.

Shadowbanning also happens to other influencers

Social media expert Lars Knoll believed that it was not the filter that was responsible for the high reach, but the topic. “It’s controversial, which creates interactions,” he says BuzzFeed News GermanyAfter all, it is an experiment that attracts a lot of attention. When we tell Hoss about it, she objects that other influencers do not declare similar experiences as experiments.

Algorithm Watch is also aware of several “allegations that Instagram discriminates against feminist content.” The organization speaks of shadowbanning. This is what it is called when a platform hides or even deletes certain content. “Meta’s approach is questionable, even if the company refers to its own guidelines,” warns the organization.

Psychologist is concerned about the “dangerous development” on Instagram

According to a YouGov survey commissioned by AOK, almost a third of all people between the ages of 14 and 30 use beauty filters. They show clear skin, straight noses and full lips. “Anything that is ‘ugly’ or outside the norm is not welcomed.” “I would call it a modern witch hunt,” says Hoss.

Psychologist Julia Tanck, who researches body image at the University of Osnabrück, speaks of a “dangerous development”. “If we only see filters around us, we tend to mistake this ideal image for reality,” she says. BuzzFeed News Germany.

Hoss’ followers write in the comments on her edited photos that they compare themselves to how they look. Such comparisons can lead to a “completely destroyed self-image,” says Tanck. “They suddenly notice supposed flaws that they hadn’t paid attention to before.” Hoss draws a conclusion after her experiment: “If you’re fake, you’re successful on Instagram. If not, then not.”