We live in divisive times, which is why you should know how to protect yourself on social media. People use these platforms to freely express their ideas and opinions, including those that can be deemed controversial, offensive, misleading, or just plain inaccurate. For those reasons, the major social networks all offer options for reporting posts and users due to a variety of infractions.
You may find a post insulting, hateful, deceptive, or outright false. You may even suspect an account is a bot. It can feel pointless to report a single post, but if enough people report it for being offensive or inaccurate, certain social networks have been prompted to label, fact check, or remove such posts. They may even ban the user for breaking the platform’s terms and conditions. Here is how to report a post or account on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Report Facebook Posts and Comments
To report a specific post on Facebook, click the ellipsis icon next to that post and select Find support or report post.
From there, you will be asked to specify your specific issue. You can choose from a number of reasons why you’re reporting the post—Nudity, Violence, Harassment, Suicide or Self-Injury, False News, Spam, Unauthorized Sales, Hate Speech, Terrorism, Incorrect Voting Info, or Something Else. Select the problem that best describes your complaint.
Depending on whether the account is a friend or a public page, you can now opt to block the person, unfollow the person, or hide all posts from the person. Otherwise, click Done.
In some cases, Facebook may ask you to narrow down the specific issue. For example, choosing Violence prompts you for the specific type of violence. Choosing Harassment asks you whether you or a friend is being harassed. Choosing Hate Speech will ask if the issue is based on race or ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, or another reason.
If you choose Something Else, you get further selections, such as Fraud or Scam, Bullying, Hate Speech, Sexual Exploitation, or Sharing Private Images. Select the specific reason and click Next.
You may receive another notification asking if you want to take any further steps. Once you’re finished, click the Next button to file the report. The next window thanks you for the report. Here, you can also choose to block, unfollow, or hide posts from this account. Click Done.
The process for reporting a comment is the same. Click the ellipsis icon next to the comment, then follow the steps to select the problem.
Report Facebook Accounts
You can report an entire account as well. To report a public page, click the ellipsis icon next to the Share icon and select Find Support or Report Page.
At the next window, choose the specific reason for reporting the page, such as Hate Speech, Nudity or Sexual Content, Violence, Harassment, Scams and Fake Pages, Unauthorized Sales, or Intellectual Property. Click Next.
Your feedback on the account will be sent, but there is more you can do. Click Report Page to force Facebook to review the page.
Check the box for I believe that this goes against Facebook’s Community Standards. Click Report. At the next window, click Done.
When it’s a private account, the process is the same but the options you have will be slightly different. Click the ellipsis icon next to the Message icon and select Find Support or Report Profile.
At the next window, select the reason for reporting the profile, such as Pretending to Be Someone Else, Fake Account, Fake Name, Posting Inappropriate Things, or something else. Click Next. At the final window, click Done.
Report Twitter Posts
To report a post on Twitter, click the down arrow next to the tweet and select Report Tweet. This process works the same way on mobile and on the web.
At the Report an issue window, choose the specific problem. You can select from a variety of options, like I’m not interested in this tweet, It’s suspicious or spam, It’s abusive or harmful, It’s misleading about a political election or other civic event, or It expresses intentions of self-harm or suicide.
Depending on which option you choose, another screen will likely pop up with additional options to specify your complaint. Click the option that’s most on target.
Another window may appear asking you to add more tweets from this account to your report. Select up to five additional tweets that may help prove this is repeat behavior from the account, then click Add. The final window offers you options to block or mute the account. Otherwise, click Done.
Report Twitter Accounts
You can also report an entire account on Twitter. Click the ellipsis icon near the account’s user profile and select the Report option.
You can then select the reason for reporting the account and offer more context for the issue you are having. Depending on what you select, Twitter may take you through several pages of options to narrow things down.
At the final window, you can opt to block or mute the account. Otherwise, click Done. You should be notified about the fate of the reported account in a few days.
Report Abuse on Instagram
You can report an Instagram post, story, or account through the app or on the web. View the posts, story, or account, then open the ellipsis menu and select Report. At the next window, select the reason for reporting the post, such as It’s spam or It’s inappropriate.
If you report the post as inappropriate, the next window asks you for a specific reason, such as Nudity or sexual activity, Hate speech or symbols, Violence or dangerous organizations, Sale of illegal or regulated goods, Bullying or harassment, Intellectual property violation, Suicide or self-injury, Scam or fraud, or False information.
Choose the reason; you may then be asked another question for the report. At the final screen, you can then opt to block the account.
