Guideline Violations: How Social Media Algorithms Target and Suppress Fat Users

Written By: Toni PNW

What Is An Algorithm?

An algorithm is how a computer performs a task. Social media algorithms are typically tasked with moderating content according to the platform's rules, gaining and analyzing data about trends and user behavior, and curating posts that will drive engagement. Algorithms keep social platforms busy which is how they make money from advertisers who want to see high numbers of likes, comments, interactions, and active engagement. 

Bullying is Profitable on Social Media

Algorithms lay out the rules of the game. Understanding what content the algorithm is rewarding means you have more opportunities to grow and make money as a creator. 

Social media makes its own profits from engagement data and advertising. Algorithms analyze everything from your likes and comments to your watch times to the second in order to curate what will get the most engagement from you. Content that sparks big, often negative or controversial reactions will perform much better in the algorithm than calm, nuanced, or kind content. This is why we see live videos on our timelines of people debating whether or not others deserve human rights. Outrage makes money.

Fatphobia draws intensity and engagement through bullying comments, duets, and reposts, and additionally creates a comfortable environment for beauty and diet industries to advertise on social platforms. Safety for fat users is traded for money. 

Algorithms Target Fat Creators

Because anti-fatness is rewarded with views and opportunities, fat social media users are often forced to endure or engage with hate comments to get their content seen. And even then, our ability to just participate on social media is a common tradeoff for the algorithms. 

Most social media platforms have rules against nudity, but algorithms are trained to enforce them by identifying content with more skin surface area visible, leading to fat people's rule-abiding content being flagged for nudity. An even more disproportionately targeting rule is “excessive skin showing policies" that reinforce the stereotype that fat bodies are inherently more inappropriate than thin bodies.

Anti-bullying measures also don't protect fat people. Community guidelines, rules, and algorithm moderation do not treat fatphobia as bullying or hate speech because fat people are not a federally protected class. Reporting comments of harm directed toward fat users is largely met with "no violations found." Meanwhile, bare minimum moderation to reduce bullying flags the word “fat” when used positively, like in fat joy or liberation content, because the empowering use of "fat" doesn't get the clicks that hate does. 

Fat creators often have to play it safe and self-censor when posting themselves, their art, and even talking about fatness to avoid being silenced, shadowbanned, or losing their accounts entirely.

Influencing the Algorithm - What can we do?

Envisioning change from where we stand can be difficult, but it is not beyond reach. We can start to show the algorithm that kindness holds more power than hate by engaging with content made with intention and education rather than reactionary harm and dehumanization. Every time you have a scroll sesh, leave comments of compliment, discussion, or support for creators making change and resisting the current conditions. Interaction is currency on social media, and spending time with fat-made content lessens the suppression it faces.

Educate yourself deeper on algorithms and media literacy. It is not just spotting where media creates harm, (like how to identify photoshop, or these days, ai) but understanding why something is being intentionally boosted, suppressed, or warped is vital for thinking critically about beliefs we've been told to hold and being part of creating equitable spaces for all communities.