Earlier this year, a glitch spread graphic, violent videos to unsuspecting instagram users. Meta, Instagram's parent company, says it has fixed the problem and now has filters to protect younger users. But a CBS News data dive found violent content is still pervasive on Instagram Reels.

Menlo Park

A CBS News investigation has found that violent and graphic content continues to be prevalent on Instagram reels, even after Meta, Instagram's parent company, claimed to have fixed a previous algorithm glitch that exposed users to such material. The investigation identified over 600 accounts posting real-world violence between February and April, with some content creators amassing millions of followers and generating significant revenue from advertising and partnerships.

Despite Meta's assurances of improved content filters and protections for younger users, the report indicates that a thriving market persists for violent content, with advertisers paying to place ads alongside graphic videos. Former Meta executives acknowledge the challenge of content moderation, but critics argue that the platform's environment enables the monetization of harmful material. Meta declined to provide specific details on enforcement actions in response to the findings.

Hundreds of Instagram accounts push violent content to millions

The cyber world has some pretty rough neighborhoods. Earlier this year a glitch spread graphic violent videos to unsuspecting Instagram users. Instagram's owner says it has fixed the problem and now has filters to protect younger users. But a CBS News data dive finds violent content is still pervasive on Instagram reels. Usher Qureshi has tonight's Ion America and we caution you, some of the subject matter is disturbing. Jack Hughes says the gory videos that popped up on his Instagram feed in February were unlike anything he'd seen before. It's worse than anyone could imagine. It's like I saw someone getting their head squished like a watermelon. Though the 19-year-old from Wisconsin understands algorithms drive his feed, he says the violent videos appeared without warning. Did you wonder why this stuff was populating your feed? I had no idea. It turns out that day in February, according to Meta, Instagram's parent company, its algorithm malfunctioned, pushing graphic and violent content to users worldwide. A CBS News investigation found violent and graphic content depicting injury or death, known as gore, remains widespread on Instagram reels. Between February and April we identified more than 600 accounts posting real-world violence. And that content isn't just shocking, it's profitable. We found Instagram hosts a thriving gray market where gambling sites, crypto apps and porn agencies pay to slip ads in between the gore. Shootings, car crashes, stuff like that. Matthew Fuhrman is one of those profiting from gore videos. A 22-year-old college student, he uses a dozen phones and hundreds of email accounts to share content with his 18 million followers across 80 Instagram accounts. On an average month, how many views would some gory, violent content that you post get? Close to a billion across all my accounts. A billion with a B? Mm-hmm. With those views, shares and likes, Fuhrman builds connections with other creators and makes money helping them gain followers, earning him up to $70,000 a month. He claims a higher purpose to his postings. Some of it's pretty disturbing to look at, don't you think? Yeah, but it's to raise awareness so people know, like, don't play with guns. So you think it's more educational than voyeuristic? Yeah. Does Meta make money when this type of content gets engagement? 100%. Ravi Iyer is a former Meta executive who oversaw content moderation. I don't think Meta's responsible for every bad thing that happens on the Internet or happens on their platform. People are going to do bad things. But they've created an environment where people are effectively getting paid to do bad things. We asked Meta repeatedly about their specific enforcement actions. While they wouldn't answer questions about our findings, they provided a statement that read in part, For millions of users, the question now isn't just what they see online, but what Meta lets them see. For Eye on America, I'm Asher Qureshi in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

The Louvre Museum in Paris reopened Wednesday for the first time after Sunday's heist. The thieves are still on the run. CBS News' Elizabeth Palmer reports on the latest in the investigation and how much the stolen jewels are worth.

Paris

Louvre reopens amid search for heist suspects

Colombia’s top court overturned former President Alvaro Uribe’s convictions for fraud and bribery, citing “structural deficiencies” and insufficient evidence. The decision opens the door for further appeals in the high-profile case.

Bogotá

Colombia court quashes former president Uribe’s conviction

AccuWeather forecasters are warning that the western Caribbean could face extreme impacts from Tropical Storm Melissa as the storm will barely move for nearly a week.

Santo Domingo

Tropical Storm Melissa expected to stall, potentially deadly

A French government minister insisted the security system at the Louvre was working as it was supposed to when burglars easily made off with $102 million worth of jewels. The Paris prosecutor says 100 investigators are on the case.

Fallout grows in France over Louvre crown jewels heist

Vice President JD Vance visited Israel, calling for patience as the fragile ceasefire, in place for 11 days, continues to hold amid ongoing tensions between Israel and Hamas.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

In visit to Israel, Vance urges patience as fragile ceasefire holds

A planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was put on hold on Tuesday, as Moscow's rejection of an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine cast a cloud over attempts at negotiation.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

Russian demands on Ukraine jeopardize Putin-Trump summit

A posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Britain's Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her as a teenager, went on sale in London on Tuesday (October 21, 2025), days after the disgraced prince gave up his Duke of York title.

London

More scrutiny piles on Prince Andrew as new Giuffre book released

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy began his five-year prison sentence in Paris on Tuesday (October 21) for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya, in a stunning downfall for a man who led the country between 2007 and 2012.

France's Sarkozy begins five-year prison sentence in Paris

US Vice-President JD Vance visits Israel amid concerns that the US-brokered peace deal between the country and Hamas will not hold. The Trump administration has redoubled its efforts to cement the fragile Gaza peace agreement after Israel accused Hamas of stalling the hand-over of hostages' bodies and deadly violence flared up in the territory days before.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

U.S. Vice-President Vance visits Israel as Gaza ceasefire falters

Amazon.com cloud service returned to normal operations on Monday (October 20) afternoon, the company said, after an internet outage that caused global turmoil among thousands of sites.

Amazon says AWS cloud service back to normal after outage

Japan's parliament has elected the country's first female leader. Sanae Takaichi, 64, of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is seen as a hardline conservative who supports traditional gender roles and hawkish foreign policy.

Tokyo

Sanae Takaichi elected Japan's first female prime minister

Three days after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukraine “could still win” its war with Russia, but added, “I don’t think they will,” raising new questions about Washington’s support for Kyiv.

Washington

Trump doubts Ukraine will win war against Russia

Former FBI Director James Comey is asking a judge to dismiss the criminal charges against him, claiming the prosecution is vindictive and unlawful.

Ex-FBI director James Comey seeks to toss indictment

An appeals court panel is allowing the White House to federalize and deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon.

Portland

Appeals court rules Trump can deploy National Guard to Portland

U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a rare earths and critical minerals agreement aimed at ensuring a steady supply of the materials at a time when China is trying to tighten control over global supply.

Washington County

U.S. and Australia boost rare earths supply with new agreement

A global outage hit Amazon Web Services (AWS), disrupting platforms like Amazon Prime, Fortnite, Alexa, Snapchat, and Duolingo. The issue, caused by increased error rates, took about three hours to mostly resolve.

AWS outage mostly resolved after hours-long global disruption

Centrist Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia's presidential runoff, defeating conservative rival Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, as the country's worst economic crisis in a generation helped propel the end of nearly two decades of leftist rule.

La Paz

Centrist Rodrigo Paz wins Bolivian presidency

After 10 years in prison without charge, a Lebanese judge has ordered the release of Hannibal Gadhafi, son of the late Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi. But it’s on condition that he pays $11 million bail, something his lawyers say they will contest.

Beirut

Lebanon orders Hannibal Gadhafi’s release after 10 years

A cargo aircraft skidded off a Hong Kong runway and collided with a security patrol car before both fell into the sea early Monday, killing the two people in the car, authorities said.

Kowloon

Two killed after cargo plane veers off runway in Hong Kong

Thieves wielding power tools have struck at the famed Louvre Museum in Paris, stealing priceless jewels in a brazen heist that took just four minutes, according to the government. The thieves struck after the museum had already opened its doors to the public, with a major investigation now underway.

‘Priceless’ jewels stolen from France’s Louvre Museum in four-minute heist

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is ending aid to Colombia after the country’s president, Gustavo Petro, accused the U.S. of ‘murder’ when it struck a small boat within Colombian territorial waters in September.

Trump ending aid to Colombia after 'murder' accusation

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire is under pressure, as the Israeli military carries out strikes on southern Gaza and accuses Hamas of opening fire on its forces. Meanwhile, Israel alleges Hamas is stalling on returning the remains of deceased hostages.

Israel, Hamas clash in major test of U.S.-backed ceasefire

The National Guard could soon be on Chicago’s streets after US President Donald Trump took his case to the country’s highest court - the conservative-leaning Supreme Court.  The President says the city is a war zone - and is in the midst of a rebellion, as residents protest his migrant deportation policy.

Chicago

Supreme Court to decide on sending the National Guard to Chicago

China's second-highest ranking general and eight other senior officials have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and the military on suspicion of serious misconduct linked to corruption.

Beijing

China expels nine senior officials from Communist Party

The United States is sending the two survivors of a Thursday (October 18) strike in the Caribbean to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador to be detained and prosecuted, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday.

U.S. will repatriate survivors of Caribbean strike, Trump says

The two sides have agreed to hold follow-up talks in Qatar to establish conditions and a framework for lasting peace, bringing an end to a week of deadly cross border skirmishes, which have killed dozens of people.

Doha

Afghanistan, Pakistan agree to immediate ceasefire, Qatar says

France's world-famous Louvre museum in Paris was forced to close on Sunday after thieves broke into Apollo Gallery and stole valuable crown jewels.

Jewels of 'inestimable' value stolen from Louvre in major heist

U.S. President Donald Trump's critics took to the streets Saturday, with millions nationwide participating in "No Kings" rallies, protesting Trump's demonstrations of power.

Anti-Trump "No Kings" protests held across U.S.

The Trump administration is awaiting word from the Supreme Court after asking it to allow the immediate deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. A lower court blocked the move.

Tensions rising in Portland, Oregon over immigration tactics

President Trump posted a video of a U.S. military strike on a submersible suspected of smuggling drugs. Two people were killed in the strike but the survivors were brought to a Navy ship. Trump says the U.S. will send the them back to their home countries for prosecution.

Breakdown