The Instagram Infodemic Persists: Extreme Content Escapes Platform's Removal Tactics.

The general cobranding of conspiracy theories and COVID-19 misinformation has been shared at an alarming rate on social media platforms. Instagram has attempted an initiative to flag and/or remove health misinformation and/or disinformation; however, the efficacy of these efforts has been unclear. This study aimed to re-examine 300 posts collected in a previous study evaluating trends in misinformation removal process on Instagram. One hundred eighty-three of 300 original posts remained on the platform, most of which were from the hashtag #hoax. Only one post was flagged for containing false information, despite presence in more than one post. The claims that the platform is removing or flagging misinformation does not align with these findings and amplifies the concern for public safety for Instagram users. Sharing and removal patterns among the 300 posts suggest that conspiracy theorists or those exposed to the inaccurate information may be at higher risk of believing and propagating other unsupported theories.