February 26 is trending on TikTok due to a controversy dubbed the ‘February 26 Instagram Reels incident.’ Here’s what you need to know about it.
The February 26 Instagram Reels graphic content incident refers to a viral controversy in which users reported seeing an unusual surge of graphic videos and sensitive content warnings in their Instagram Reels feeds.
This unexpected shift in content sparked widespread discussion across platforms like Reddit, X, and TikTok. Many users posted reactions and memes, asking, “What is wrong with Instagram Reels today?”
Meta’s content moderation changes explained
In January 2025, Meta announced a loosening of its content moderation policies, citing concerns about over-censorship.
The policy change aimed to minimize instances of mistakenly flagged or removed content, but it also prompted debates about how this shift might affect the type of material shown on Instagram and Facebook. While some welcomed the change, others warned it could lead to unintended consequences.
Viral surge of graphic content on February 26
On February 26, also known as the ‘Slime Your Homeboy’ Day on TikTok, Instagram users began noticing an influx of graphic and violent content in their Reels feed. Posts quickly spread across social media documenting the disturbing trend.
For instance, X user DainielzChill tweeted, “Bro what is happening on Instagram Reels rn. I saw about 24 people getting killed in the span of 6 minutes,” amassing over 1.3K likes.
Similarly, Redditor TheVegiePresident posted, “What the f**k is happening on IG Reels today? I swear, every reel for the past few hours is straight up from LiveLeak.” The post garnered over 2.7K upvotes.
Meta’s response
Amid mounting backlash, Meta issued a public apology on February 27, stating it had resolved an “error” responsible for the sudden appearance of violent content.
“We have fixed an error that caused some users to see content in their Instagram Reels feed that should not have been recommended. We apologize for the mistake,” a spokesperson told news outlets. Despite the fix, some users reported seeing graphic content even after the announcement.
TikTokers react to February 26 incident
The incident fueled viral reactions online. On February 26, TikToker vale.ponzio shared a video scrolling through a Reels feed covered in graphic content warnings, earning over 495,000 views.
Another user, donelij, created a similar post that read, “Mfrs scrolling on IG reels today seeing their feed slowly become gore/murders & it progressively gets worse the more you scroll,” gathering over 133,000 views.
This incident has also drawn comparisons to TikTok’s infamous ‘December 22 incident,’ where explicit content hidden in TikTok slideshows circulated widely without being removed by moderators.
Content shared from www.dexerto.com.