‘I set up fake Insta account as David, 17, and was quickly sent antisemitic tropes’ reveals MP
Melanie Ward label's the platform's failed promise to provide age appropriate content a 'disgrace'
A Labour MP has revealed that she set up a fake Instagram account, posing as a 17-year-old boy named David, to test the platform’s claims about keeping teen users safe. Within just 11 minutes of scrolling, the account was targeted with antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Melanie Ward described it as a “disgrace” that she received anti-Jewish material without even searching for anything on the platform.
Addressing the Commons, Ward said: “This is a disgrace and just one example of why it is time to stop asking social media companies to make their products safe and instead start requiring them to do so through regulation.”
The MP for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy spoke out in response to an Urgent Question about the Government’s latest policy announcements on children’s online safety.
Speaking at London Tech Week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that tech firms must prevent children from sending and receiving explicit images on their devices, or the Government would legislate to force them.
Apple and Google have been given a three-month ultimatum to make it impossible for children to take, share, or view nude images on their smartphones.
“For too long, people have been told that is simply the price of modern tech—that nothing can be done, that Government is powerless, that parents just have to accept it,” the Prime Minister said.
He added: “I reject that completely, because tech should adapt to the needs of society, not the other way around.”
Later, in the Commons, Ward reiterated: “To test Instagram’s claim that their teen accounts provide age-appropriate content, I set up an account as a 17-year-old boy called David. Without searching for anything, it took just 11 minutes of scrolling for David to be shown antisemitic conspiracy theories.
“Does the Minister agree that this is a disgrace, and just one example of why it is time to stop asking social media companies to make their products safe and instead require them to do so through regulation?”
Responding for the government, Kaniashka Narayan, Minister for AI and Online Safety, said: “I was horrified when I brought together Jewish leaders to ensure they could share with companies the depth of prejudice they have experienced online, and I heard very similar stories. I agree with her; this government will continue to bring the full weight of regulation and policy against the tech companies.”
Organisations such as the Antisemitism Policy Trust have repeatedly questioned the strength of the government’s efforts to tackle online hate and the exploitation of women and children.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
