Instagram is not what it used to be. What started as a simple platform to share retro-inspired photos with friends and family quickly turned into a social media mega-app. You can still share photos, sure, but the platform now offers almost everything from livestreams to short-form video feeds. In fact, for some users, the Instagram algorithm has turned their feeds into bona fide meme machines, with low-effort videos, images and carousel posts dominating their experience as they scroll through the app. If you use Instagram, you may have a similar experience—especially if you have a taste for weird, quirky, or otherwise alternative Internet humor.
Instagram is putting the slop on notice
Which is likely to change in the near future. Reported by TechCrunchInstagram is cracking down on “unoriginal” content—or posts from creators that they didn’t create themselves. It includes single photo posts as well as carousel posts. The idea here is to promote Instagram users who post original content, while limiting users who copy other people’s work and share it on their own feeds. Most of the low-quality images and videos you see on Instagram (and other social media platforms, for that matter) are stolen from other creators, and reposted as if the uploader has any claim to that content. Carousels are particularly serious, as they allow a single user to post a number of different images from different creators.
This does not mean that any user who reposts something they did not create will be penalized. As long as the poster makes a meaningful change to that image or video, it should be considered “original” content in Instagram’s book. Otherwise, there will be a whole host of content—memes or otherwise—that will be banned from the platform. It does not include “low-effort edits”, however, such as overlaying watermarks or adjusting video speed. A user is required to make more material changes to a piece of content to be approved here. As Instagram explains, “An original meme transforms another creator’s photo or video…when meme creators add humor, social commentary, cultural references, or relevant tech to the photo or video by including elements like unique text, creative edits, and voiceover, they create something original. The best meme creators take third-party content and mirror it. A joke, or reference that wasn’t there before. That’s the kind of creativity we want to continue to reward.”
However, you may not see a change in the AI slope
As TechCrunch highlights, Instagram has already applied these rules to Reels, so this isn’t the first time the platform has tried to implement this policy. However, what I find interesting is that the “AI slope” doesn’t get much attention at this point. In fact, Meta AI seems to be all-in on content, At least by the end of 2025. I believe that as long as the AI content is “native”, Meta has no problem populating its platforms, Instagram included. It’s the opposite approach that YouTube is taking: while both platforms suffer from low-quality AI clips, YouTube is actually trying to fight the spread of that kind of AI content.
What do you think so far?
On Instagram, however, you may see a reduction in the number of repetitive, low-effort meme posts that flood your feeds, but you may encounter the same relatively weird AI videos that spread like wildfire. Clear AI videos are clear, of course, but with advancing AI video models, New clips are sometimes hard to tell apart from the real thing. Be careful out there.
