By Milt Harris ——Bio and Archives--June 11, 2023
American Politics, News | CFP Comments | Reader Friendly | Subscribe | Email Us
Last week the Wall Street Journal reported that there is a “vast pedophile network” hiding in plain sight on Instagram. I’m not that familiar with Instagram, and I’ll admit that I very rarely use emojis. Still, I was aware that if you use them in certain sequences or patterns they send messages.
According to the report, since Instagram is a visually oriented media platform communication is basically limited to under photos or videos. That is where the pedophiles would communicate. Again, to me emojis seem like a playful little way to add something to a conversation, leave it to sick minds to tarnish that.
The emojis that were frequently used include a map, which is an acronym for “minor attracted person.” A cheese pizza, CP are the initials for “child pornography,” and a reverse arrow next to a person’s age, so as an example an age shown as 21, would really have something to do with a twelve-year-old.
The Journal, in conjunction with researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Stanford University, found that the network was deeply embedded in the platform, raising the question of whether this was allowed to grow out of ignorance or deliberate tolerance.
Complicating things even further, the investigation learned that because of the manner in which the social media algorithms work, even one visit to any of these pedophile profiles will results in your feed being sent a barrage of related suggestions.
It's the “follow suggestions” that give these perverts a more direct route to their prey. In the report it was noted that while pedophiles have always hidden in the dark corners of the internet to quench their perverted needs, it would always be a conscientious choice, something the abuser would need to acquire. However, the Instagram algorithms essentially eliminate the conscientious part by automating it.
The report found that the sickness involved in the network got even deeper:
“The researchers found that Instagram enabled people to search explicit hashtags such as ## and #preteensex and connected them to accounts that used the terms to advertise child-sex material for sale. Such accounts often claim to be run by the children themselves and use overtly sexual handles incorporating words such as ‘little # for you.”
The former Chief Security Officer for Meta, the company that owns Instagram, is Alex Stamos. Stamos, who is now the head of the Stanford Internet Observatory, worked in that security capacity for Meta until 2018. He was appalled how easy it was for people to navigate so deeply into this cesspool of pedophiles.
“That a team of three academics with limited access could find such a huge network should set off alarms at Meta. I hope the company reinvests in human investigators.”
Brian Levine, the Director of the UMass Rescue Lab, that seeks out and combats child victimization online, referred to Instagram as a “gateway drug” to even darker places on the internet. “Instagram is an on ramp to places on the internet where there’s more explicit child sexual abuse.”
Meta and Instagram’s response was the typical one, that they are working on safeguards against pedophilia. However, that bland, robotic response did not sit well with Levine.
“Pull the emergency brake. Are the economic benefits worth the harms to these children?”
A company representative for Meta admitted that errors were committed. During a review of how the company handled child sex abuse reports a number of issues were discovered. First, a “software glitch” was found that stopped child sex abuse reports from reaching the correct people. Second, it was learned that the company staff wasn’t properly trained on enforcing the rules should a child sex abuse report make it through.
I pray that the company wasn’t deliberately looking in another direction and allowing this to take place. That said, would it be that shocking if we learned that it was? The left has our children in their crosshairs and they will go to any lengths to corrupt their innocence.
The New World Order that the left is so desperate to create will not function with an upcoming generation of responsible, morally entrenched children. That is why they seek for them to be uneducated, immoral, naïve of their rights and stripped of their will to fight. Those that are educated and have strong moral convictions make poor subjects and are not easily dominated.
Talk to your children about this Instagram trap and ask them to educate their friends about the danger. This is not the time for them to be naïve.
Support Canada Free Press
View Comments
Milt spent thirty years as a sales and operations manager for an international manufacturing company. He is also a four-time published author on a variety of subjects. Now, he spends most of his time researching and writing about conservative politics and liberal folly.