Dating app giants Match and Bumble have pulled ads from Instagram Reels after learning they were being served up among sexually inappropriate videos of children.
An investigation by the Wall Street Journal found the ads along with content that was served up by the app’s video algorithm.
The Journal’s reporters purposefully set up fake accounts then followed accounts featuring children on pages dedicated to gymnastics and cheerleading.
While browsing videos on the app, the reporters saw ads for the big businesses.
An Instagram Bumble ad, similar to what the Wall Street Journal said was shown next to inappropriate videos of children as was an ad for Hims, an erectile dysfunction drug
Meta vowed to clamp down on the inappropriate content and insisted it was not the type that is served up to other normal profiles, since the newspaper’s reporters specifically tailored their interests to kids.
Match and Bumble, horrified by the fact their ads had appeared alongside the vile content, have suspended their Reel advertising in response.
The inappropriate videos viewed by the Journal included a man lying on a bed with his arm around a 10-year-old girl, and a video of a young girl lifting up her shirt to display her torso.
Some Tinder ads were also shown, according to the WSJ report
In a statement to DailyMail.com, a Meta spokesperson said: ‘We don’t want this kind of content on our platforms and brands don’t want their ads to appear next to it.
‘We continue to invest aggressively to stop it – and report every quarter on the prevalence of such content, which remains very low.
‘Our systems are effective at reducing harmful content, and we’ve invested billions in safety, security and brand suitability solutions.
‘These results are based on a manufactured experience that does not represent what billions of people around the world see every single day when they use our products and services.
‘We tested Reels for nearly a year before releasing it widely – with a robust set of safety controls and measures.
The Reels function was launched to compete with TikTok in August 2020
‘In 2023, we actioned over 4 million Reels per month across Facebook and Instagram globally for violating our policies.’
The site has features for reporting inappropriate content including children, and says it has designated task forces set up to cracking down on such videos.
The Reels function was launched to compete with TikTok in August 2020.
Neither Pizza Hut nor Walmart has not yet commented on the issue.