Instagram Admits Its Algorithm Took Creed's "Higher" a Little Too Literally
Instagram says an error caused Creed's 1999 anthem "Higher" to be recommended to far more users than intended while they created Stories.
Instagram has apologized after its music recommendation system developed an apparent obsession with Creed's "Higher."
Users had spent weeks reporting that the platform repeatedly suggested the song while they added music to Instagram Stories, regardless of what they were posting. Pictures of pets, meals, family gatherings, and outdoor scenery were all apparently suitable candidates for Creed's soaring 1999 anthem.
The unusually persistent recommendations led some users to wonder whether Creed or its representatives had paid Meta to promote the track. Others joked that they had uncovered a conspiracy hidden inside Instagram's algorithm.
According to an Instagram spokesperson, however, the explanation was considerably less dramatic.
"We looked into this and found that this song is being recommended to more people than intended," the spokesperson told CNN. Instagram's engineering team is continuing to investigate the problem and working on a fix.
Instagram normally selects suggested music using signals that can include songs a person previously used and visual information from the photo or video being uploaded. The company has not explained exactly what caused "Higher" to appear so frequently.
Users have also questioned why Soulja Boy's "Turn My Swag On" regularly appears among Instagram's recommendations. The platform said that suggestion is not connected to a glitch and that the song is simply popular with users.
"Higher" appeared on Creed's diamond-certified 1999 album Human Clay and became one of the band’s biggest hits. More than 25 years later, the song has apparently found another way to become nearly inescapable.
