Rachel Riley opens up about the constant and invasive social media abuse she is experiencing

Rachel Riley is constantly receiving abusive and invasive messages on Instagram and has asked the company to do more to protect women online

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Rachel Riley has revealed the level of “invasive and disgusting” misogynist abuse she regularly faces on social media.

The Countdown presenter, 36, has over half a million followers on Instagram and has opened up to having sent dozens of unsolicited sexual videos and images to her direct messages.

The math genius says she’s also tried strangers calling her through the app, while others have sent her fake pictures of her face on pornstars’ bodies performing explicit acts.

The moderator is an ambassador for the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which says not enough is being done to prevent such disgusting acts.

The post Rachel cites as an explanation: “It’s amazing to know that random people are sending porn – it empowers them to know that it has landed in your inbox. You get your money’s worth with it.

“On Instagram, any old perv can privately send you something that should be illegal. If he did it on the street, he would be arrested.”

She confessed that she believes it is inevitable that women would receive such crude private messages in public and insists that social media platforms have a duty of care to protect women from such acts.

However, she believes much more needs to be done and says that even if the incidents are reported, companies are not doing enough.

She continued: “I just think that all social media is incapable of self-regulation, clearly. They have the technology to realize that this content is gross, but these users still have the technology to send you unwanted images.

“Teenage girls could get this stuff while nobody else knows about it because it’s behind closed doors. It’s intrusive and gross.”

Rachel admitted that some of the content she receives turns her stomach.

She gave researchers access to her Instagram account, as did Amber Heard and three other high-profile women.

The results showed that 254 different accounts had sent abuse to the women between December 28 and February 28, and although they had all been flagged, a whopping 227 were still active.

It was also found that one in every 15 messages the women received during the two-month trial violated Instagram’s rules on abuse and harassment.

The researchers also discovered that strangers had attempted to video call Rachel on five separate occasions.

CCDH Chief Executive Imran Ahmed said: “Instagram has chosen to side with abusers by negligently creating a culture where abusers face no consequences – and denying women the dignity and ability to use digital to use spaces without nuisance.

“There is an epidemic of misogynist abuse in women’s DMs.”

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