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Instagram Blocks Internet Trolls

August 02nd 2016

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Harry Potter author JK Rowling certainly isn’t afraid of an online feud and recently fired back at a “racist” troll who questioned the casting of Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger in the latest West End play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. She responded swiftly: “We found the best actress and she’s black. Bye bye, now.” Enough said!
In an open letter to cyber bullies, ‘Body Part’ singer Ciara slammed online users who become foolhardy and headstrong when they’re anonymous. “It’s like a ‘Who Can Say the Nastiest Comment Game’,” the R&B artist writes. “If only they [trolls] could make a difference in their own life as well as influence others.” Ain’t that the truth, C!
After giving birth to an adorable baby boy, rather than receiving well wishes from her innumerable fans, singer-songwriter Adele was plagued with online insults. Twitter trolls made shameful jokes about post partum depression, as well as her weight. But with an impressive net worth of $125 million, we can all agree there’s no need for her to even bother fighting back.
Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor is one of the highest-paid actresses in the industry. Unfortunately, she’s also a repeat target of Internet trolls. Kapoor’s been body shamed and criticised on countless occasions, and her reaction? She recently told them in an interview: “You guys can troll me as much as you want.” Woman of the year, anybody?
Downtown Abbey actress Lily James left social media when she first joined the much-loved drama as Lady Rose MacClare because of abuse she’d received online. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop trolls from starting conspiracy theories that her waistline in the film Cinderella was the work of CGI. James, 25, told the Radio Times: “I was surprised people had an opinion about me”

Instagram, which has an estimated 500 million monthly users, has gifted its most popular clients a new tool to remove offensive comments.

With over 86 million followers, it comes as no surprise that Shake It Off singer Taylor Swift is one of the first to benefit from the anti-harassment tool.

Those hateful comments on Swift’s Instagram didn’t disappear for no reason. Now, if you try to post a snake or rat emoji on the singer’s profile, which is the second most-followed worldwide, it will be automically blocked.

The site, which is owned by Facebook, said they are currently testing the tool on various high-volume accounts, but hope it will be available to the general public within the next few months. Users will also have the option to fully disable comments on their posts.

“We’re always looking for ways to help people have a positive experience with comments on Instagram,” a statement read. “We’re currently focused on providing tools to improve accounts with the most high-volume comment threads, and we will use our learnings to continue to improve the comment experience on Instagram.”

At MOJEH, we’re all for this much-needed update, which is a momentous step toward reducing online harassment. Check out the photo gallery above to see other celebrities who have been trolled online.

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