Summary
- YouTube removed the dislike button to prevent targeted campaigns on Google content, but it made the service worse for users.
- Instagram is testing a dislike button for comments but won’t show the count or who clicked it, possibly to rank comments.
- Instagram’s potential use of dislikes in comment ranking raises concerns about toxic positivity and lack of visibility for users.
YouTube claimed it removed its dislike button in 2021 to cut down on targeted dislike campaigns, which was growing embarrassing for Google (like this video currently at 20 million dislikes) and its corporate and governmental content when so many videos were showcasing a swath of displeased fans. Sure, the removal actually makes the service worse for users, with no way to know if a video is judged good or bad by the community, thus leaving us to find out for ourselves.
But it would appear there is one social media platform that is aware of how useful dislikes can be, and so Instagram has started testing a dislike button for comments (via 91Mobiles), perhaps as a push towards less community fact-checking, but so far, it’s unwilling to show the count or who clicked the button during its current testing, and there does appear to be a plan to use the hidden dislike data to rank comments with the idea the cream will rise to the top.
Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, seems to think so
The Thread above comes from the head of Instagram, verifying what users have been seeing, a dislike button for comments that is currently in testing. Not everyone will gain access to this tool, though some interesting tidbits have been shared that cover how Instagram sees it working. First off, users can’t see a dislike count, and nobody but Instagram will know who clicked. So it would seem Instagram has no interest in opening up the can of worms YouTube dealt with by hiding its dislike counts and just won’t show them. Mosseri even goes on to detail that the dislike data could be used to rank comments, which sounds similar to Reddit and its upvote/downvote system, which we all know has created a gigantic angry echo chamber.
As of yet, it doesn’t sound like Instagram is using its new dislike data for anything, which means Instagram’s comment order should be unchanged for now, though it is worrying that by crowdsourcing likes and dislikes as a signal of what is and isn’t worth seeing will repeat the same problem other social media sites have stumbled into, endless toxic positivity, which has already created some of the biggest monetary fumbles of our lifetime. Without a publicly visible count, there is no way for users to make their own judgments of what comments are good or bad, forcing everyone to rely on Instragram’s hidden dislike system and its crowd of users, which sure sounds like a recipe for disaster that in no way promotes free speech.
For now, testing of the dislike comment feature will continue, so it remains to be seen if or how Instagram truly plans to use dislikes if implemented officially, though the direction is concerning when it sounds like Instagram is dropping community fact-checking to go down the same path with community dislikes for comments. If the detailed fact-checking wasn’t working to the point it was ditched to promote free speech (thus illustrating the community can’t be trusted), why would there ever be an expectation a community dislike system will work any different? Leave it to Meta to potentially implement dislikes in the worst way possible, through a hidden system unaccountable to any users. Gross.
