Instagram Chief Declares Traditional Creativity Dead Amid AI Boom, Urges Shift to Raw Content

In a stark year-end manifesto that has rippled through the creator economy, Instagram head Adam Mosseri has effectively declared the "polished" aesthetic of social media dead, warning that artificial intelligence has made perfection "infinitely reproducible."

In a comprehensive 20-slide memo released to close out 2025, Mosseri admitted that the platform is losing the war against "AI slop" and synthetic media. His message to the app’s billions of users for 2026 is a radical departure from the curated feeds of the past: stop trying to be perfect, and start being "unflatteringly real."

The Death of "Polished" Content
Mosseri’s central thesis is that the era of high-production, picture-perfect Instagram feeds is over because AI can now fake that look instantly and for free.

"Infinitely Reproducible": Mosseri argued that "authenticity is becoming infinitely reproducible." Because AI tools can now generate flawless sunsets, perfect makeup, and ideal lifestyles, these visuals no longer signal human effort or reality.

The "Polished" Feed is Dead: "Unless you are under 25, you probably think of Instagram as a feed of square photos: polished makeup, skin smoothing, and beautiful landscapes. That feed is dead," Mosseri wrote. He noted that users stopped sharing personal moments to the main feed years ago, retreating to DMs to share "blurry photos and shaky videos."

The New Mandate: "Imperfection is Proof"
To survive in an ecosystem flooded with synthetic content, Mosseri advised creators to lean into the one thing AI struggles to authentically replicate: messiness.

Rawness as Defense: "Savvy creators are leaning into unproduced, unflattering images," he explained. "In a world where everything can be perfected, imperfection becomes a signal. Rawness isn't just an aesthetic preference anymore—it's proof."

The "Who" over the "What": As content becomes commoditized, the focus will shift from the image itself to the identity of the person posting it. Mosseri predicts a move from "assuming reality by default" to "skepticism by default," where users constantly question the source.

Giving Up on "Detection"?
Perhaps the most controversial part of the memo was Mosseri’s admission that Instagram cannot win the technical arms race against AI fakes.

Fingerprinting Reality: Instead of trying to detect AI (which he admitted platforms will get "worse at" over time), Mosseri proposed a system where cameras "cryptographically sign" real images at the moment of capture.

The Strategy: "It will be more practical to fingerprint real media than fake media," he argued, signaling a future where "human-made" becomes a verified status rather than the default assumption.

The Creator Backlash
The "gaslighting" accusations were immediate. Influencers and long-time users flooded social media with criticism, arguing that Instagram’s own algorithms—which have historically suppressed organic reach in favor of addictive, high-retention video—created the very environment Mosseri is now critiquing.

"You Built This": One viral comment from a creator with 2 million followers accused Mosseri of "gaslighting the world on how you failed as a platform to protect creators."

The Algorithm Trap: Critics pointed out that while Mosseri preaches "rawness," the algorithm continues to reward high-engagement, fast-paced trends that often require the very tools and polish he claims are dead.