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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 had almost forgotten that I saw Kim Hoss on Instagram Then the artist appears again on my homepage on August 13. Only she looks different: Perfect like a doll and less like a human. Anyone who clicks on Instagram moves, can see that she uses a beauty filter. She then posts edited photos and videos on several consecutive days.
Left: Kim Hoss without beauty filter. Right: With filter. © Sylviane Brauer/ @kim_____hoss Instagram Screenshot
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 Deutschland von 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.
Within a week, Kim Hoss’ story views increased by more than 10,000. © @kim_____hoss Screenshot Instagram
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 with it or fool it.”
Organization believes it is likely that Instagram will prioritize photos with beauty filters
Is she right? BuzzFeed News Deutschland asks the organization Algorithm Watch, which has investigated Instagram’s algorithm. Spokesperson Naiara Bellio shares 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 user has.
Shadowbanning also happens to other influencers
Social media expert Lars Knoll believes 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 DeutschlandAfter 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
After a YouGov survey on behalf of the 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 Deutschland.
Hoss’ followers write in the comments on her edited photos that they compare themselves to how they look. Such comparisons can lead to a “totally distorted 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 you’re not, then you’re not.”
