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In the wake of the 2016 Presidential elections in the US, it became apparent that both Facebook and Twitter had been utilized by Russian-based groups to manipulate public sentiment about the American elections both through traditional posts as well as paid advertising. Most notable of the groups investigated and named was the Russian-based Internet Research Agency (IRA). Perhaps less well known is the fact that Instagram was also an avenue through which the IRA delivered political messaging and electoral interference. Moreover, far from ending with President Trump’s election, research released in 2018 showed that not only that Instagram continued to be a conduit for political manipulation, but that after the interference on Facebook and Twitter was made public, the focus of the IRA’s activity shifted specifically, and in largest proportion, to Instagram (DiResta et al. 2018; Howard et al. 2018).

What was most notable about the IRA Instagram accounts is that they did not begin as political accounts, but rather built a distinct and reliable network through what appeared to be legitimate content, before periodically integrating explicitly political material which usually favoured then-candidate Donald Trump and denounced Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton. Of 133 IRA Instagram accounts mapped in a New Knowledge report (DiResta et al. 2018), the largest account, @blackstagram__ had over 300,000 followers, with their content receiving more than 27 million likes. The aim of this account appears to have been to sow distrust and discord amongst black communities and convince them that voting for any candidate was a waste of their time. Moreover, many of the most effective Instagram posts were memes of various kinds, some recognizable, some using the images of the presidential candidates, but all clearly conveying a political payload. Some IRA accounts went as far as to sell merchandise, both as a fundraising effort for their own messaging campaigns but also, crucially, as a means to gather both clearer personal data (name, exact address, credit card details) and as a marker of clear political leaning, as the purchasing of political merchandise is a very direct marker of political allegiance.

In 2017 when Facebook admitted they had detected and shut down a raft of IRA accounts on Facebook, they also, more quietly, acknowledged a further 170 IRA Instagram accounts had just been detected and removed (Isaac & Wakabayashi 2017). Notably, while less in overall volume, the IRA posts on Instagram appear to have been the most effective, on average provoking the largest measurable reactions in terms of likes and comments (DiResta et al. 2018; Howard et al. 2018). For Instagram, Facebook and all large online platforms, the question of political manipulation remains an ongoing and important challenge. Balancing the Silicon Valley ideology underpinning Facebook and Instagram, while operating across the globe, and attempting not to upset countries, citizens and political systems with differing, at times divergent, needs, is no small issue. Indeed, Facebook commented that most IRA content on their platforms, including on Instagram, did not obviously violate any of their policies, which is why the content persisted (Isaac & Wakabayashi 2017). Whether this material violated US laws, or whether new laws will come into place in the US or elsewhere, is also a topic of considerable debate.

It is clear and undeniable that Instagram is a space for political discussion, political debate and, to date at least, political manipulation. The fact that the IRA went to so much effort to utilize Instagram shows their belief in the value of the social ties that exist between Instagram users. Targeting Instagram confirms that Instagram matters as a realm of taste, politics and cultural knowledge, something explored in more detail in chapter 5. How Instagram, Facebook and others respond to the more explicit political uses, and misuses, of their platforms may well colour how much trust, and use, these platforms enjoy in years to come.