On Sept. 10, right-wing political activist and commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. The mainstream news coverage never showed the moment he was hit, or the graphic aftermath. But thousands, if not millions, of people still saw the terrible moment unfold — even if they had no desire to watch something so violent in nature — thanks to social media.
Many of the videos were graphic, with close-ups of Kirk being shot, and they’re appearing on some people’s feeds without a sensitivity or trigger warning first. So, people scrolling on their feeds had to watch a murder without any warning or opportunity to scroll past. Of course, Kirk’s shooting isn’t anywhere near the first instance of graphic content being circulated with little to no warnings for users. Videos of warfare around the world, police brutality, and ICE raids are all circulating social media at this very moment, showing up on people’s algorithms even if they don’t want to watch it. Being forced to watch videos like this can not only trigger a trauma response from past experiences, but they can also be traumatic in their own right. So, what can be done about this?
Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to keep these videos from making their way around social media — almost anyone can post almost anything. But even if the answer to limiting the sharing of graphic content isn’t clear, there are still some steps you can all take to limit this type of content from showing up on your own devices. Here are some tips for how to filter violent videos out of your social media feeds, broken down by platform.
On Instagram, users can opt into a setting called “sensitive content control,” which allows you to limit the amount of content the algorithm deems potentially sensitive or upsetting in your algorithm.
To turn it on, head to your account and tap profile, then menu in the top right. From there, hit content preferences, then sensitive content. Once you’re at that point, a page will come up allowing you to click on less, standard, or more sensitive content. Clicking less will let the algorithm know you want less content that could be upsetting. After you’ve done that, hit confirm when prompted.
It’s important to note that this only helps limit the content from people you don’t follow. This means if your family, friends, or anyone else you follow post something violent, offensive, or upsetting, Instagram won’t prevent you from seeing it.
Since Facebook and IG are both run by Meta, the process to limit graphic content on FB is very similar to IG. First, go to your profile page and click settings & privacy. From there, click content preferences, which will allow you to limit both political and sensitive content.
Outside of taking these steps, Facebook encourages users to hide posts that appear in their feed that are graphic, reporting content that may be upsetting, and utilizing the interested or not interested feature to have certain posts ranked higher or lower by your algorithm.
X/Twitter
On X, start by clicking on your profile, then scroll down to settings & privacy. After that, click on the content you see section and ensure that the box is not checked. Also note that it may be easier to do this on a webpage than in the app, as the option of displaying sensitive content doesn’t come up for all mobile users.
Unfortunately on X, most of the burden falls on the one posting to keep sensitive content out of our feeds, so users have much less control. If you think you may be posting sensitive content, mark your account as containing material that may be sensitive. You can do this by heading into the settings & privacy page, clicking on your posts and marking that box stating your media may be sensitive.
TikTok
TikTok’s approach is very similar to the others in restricting content. The app offers Restricted Mode, which limits content with “mature or complex” themes. To turn it on, head to your profile and click the three lines for the menu at the top. Then, select Settings & Privacy, followed by clicking Content Preferences. Once you’re there, you can click Restricted Mode, which will open a page explaining that the setting will limit content that makes some audience members feel uncomfortable. At the bottom of this page, tap Turn on. Just keep in mind that once you turn this setting on, certain features like going live are restricted. Additionally, if you have multiple accounts, you’ll need to change the setting on all of them.
Final Thoughts
Although these tips can give everyone a little more protection, they’re not completely foolproof. TBH, the only 100% guaranteed way to avoid seeing this type of content is to stay off social media entirely. But since that’s not a realistic option for most people, taking proactive steps like these can offer a greater sense of control and more peace of mind when scrolling through your feed.
Also, keep in mind that limiting access to violent videos doesn’t mean you can’t be aware of what’s going on in the world around you. If anything, by filtering out harmful and upsetting content, you can make consuming relevant news a little less emotionally taxing while you continue to stay informed.