Phoebe Bridgers calls Mark Zuckerberg an ‘a**hole’ over ‘totally unethical’ Instagram algorithm

Singer said that algorithms on social media are designed to “torture kids”

Phoebe Bridgers has spoken out about the problems with social media, branding it “evil”.

The singer has more than 1.5 million followers on Instagram, where she uses her platform for activism and to support other musicians.

In a new interview with Billboard ’s Women in Music campaign, Bridgers was asked about the “uninhibited and often hilarious” side of herself that she shares online.

“It’s weird because it’s all under the umbrella of capital,” the musician replied.

She continued: “Some a**hole owns Instagram, and people are making this totally unethical algorithm to torture kids and f***ing… I don’t know. Twitter’s evil. It’s all evil.”

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, now called Meta, acquired Instagram in 2012. The platform began experimenting with ways to “depressurise” the app by hiding likes on photos in order to reduce competition between young people.

Twitter was co-founded by Jack Dorsey in 2006. He later stepped down from his role as CEO in November.

However, Bridgers said that she would continue using social media despite any negative feelings towards it.

“It has been the only connector for at least two years, more so than ever. So I don’t know,” she said.

“Working under the constraints of the world that we live in, it’s important to me, and I like connecting with fans, and that’s my favourite thing about it by far.”