"If it's there to sensationalise and glamourise, of course it has no place on our platform, it shouldn't be on our platform. And if we need to work harder to make sure it isn't on our platform then we certainly will."<doc-sep>Get email updates with the day's biggest stories Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice A dad has accused Instagram of 'helping' to kill his daughter after her tragic suicide at 14. Ian Russell claims daughter Molly looked at pictures glorifying self-harm on the social media website before her death. The teenager was found dead after returning from school and packing her bag for the the next day. She had left a note saying: "I'm sorry. I did this because of me." Molly, a pupil at Hatch End High School in Harrow, Middlesex, had started to look sat disturbing posts without her family's knowledge. It wasn't until after her death in 2017 that he parents realised what she had been doing. (Image: BBC) (Image: BBC) Her dad said many were on accounts of people who were depressed or suicidal. He described some of the content that he said 'linked self harm to suicide' as "shocking". One he said featured an image of a blindfolded girl, seemingly with bleeding eyes, holding a teddy bear. It contained a caption that read: "This world is so cruel, and I don't wanna to see it anymore" He told the Daily Mail: "I have no doubt that Instagram helped kill my daughter. She had so much to offer and that's gone." Speaking to the BBC, ""Quite a lot of that content was quite positive. Perhaps groups of people who were trying to help each other out, find ways to remain positive to stop self-harming. "But some of that content is shocking in that it encourages self-harm, it links self-harm to suicide and I have no doubt that Instagram helped kill my daughter. (Image: GOOGLE) "The posts on those sites are so often black and white, they're sort of fatalistic. "[They say] there's no hope, join our club, you're depressed, I'm depressed, there's lots of us, come inside this virtual club." Mirror Online has approached Instagram for comment. A spokesperson told the Mail: "Our thoughts go out to Molly's family and anyone dealing with the issues raised. "We do not allow content that promotes or glorifies eating disorders, self-harm or suicide and work hard to remove it. "However, for many young people, discussing their mental health journey or connecting with others who have battled similar issues, is an important part of their recovery. "This is why we don't remove certain content and instead offer people looking at, or posting it, support when they might need it most." If you need to speak to someone, Samaritans are available 24/7 by calling 116 123 or by emailing jo@samaritans.org<doc-sep>The family of a schoolgirl who is believed to have killed herself after viewing self harm images on Instagram have released poignant photos of her. Tragic Molly Russell, 14, of Harrow, north west London, was found dead in her bedroom in November 2017 after showing 'no obvious signs' of severe mental health issues. Her family later found she had been viewing material on social media linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide and her father accused Instagram of 'helping to kill her.' Ian Russell today said the algorithms used by Instagram enabled Molly to view more harmful content, possibly contributing to her death. Tragic Molly Russell, 14, (pictured aged 11) of Harrow, north west London, was found dead in her bedroom in November 2017 after showing 'no obvious signs' of severe mental health issues Ian Russell today said the algorithms used by Instagram enabled Molly to view more harmful content, possibly contributing to her death. Pictured: Molly on holiday aged six (left) and aged 11 It came as Molly's family released new images of the youngster, showing her holding a cuddly toy, on holiday, and riding a horse. In another statement on Wednesday Mr Russell said: 'We are very keen to raise awareness of the harmful and disturbing content that is freely available to young people online. 'Not only that, but the social media companies, through their algorithms, expose young people to more and more harmful content, just from one click on one post. 'In the same way that someone who has shown an interest in a particular sport may be shown more and more posts about that sport, the same can be true of topics such as self-harm or suicide.' Molly aged four, holding a cuddly toy in this poignant photo released by her family today, Her father has blamed Instagram for helping to kill her 14-year-old Molly took her own life after handing in her homework and returning to her family home Mr Russell has told the BBC: 'I have no doubt that Instagram helped kill my daughter. She had so much to offer and that's gone.' Molly was found dead just hours after handing in her homework and returning to her family home, where she had packed a bag to go to school the next day. In a devastating note, she told her parents and two sisters: 'I'm sorry. I did this because of me.' An inquest into Molly's death is expected later this year. Prime Minister Theresa May's official spokesman said: 'This is a tragic case and our thoughts are with Molly's family and friends. 'Social media platforms have a responsibility to regulate content on their platforms and the Prime Minister has been clear that tech companies must do more to step up and address these concerns.' Mr Russell's criticism of the photo-sharing site, which is owned by Facebook, comes after experts warned Instagram helped to glorify self-harm among vulnerable youngsters. Father Ian Russell said his daughter took her own life after looking at pictures on the social network that glorified self-harm and suicide Last night hundreds of thousands of images depicting people harming themselves and discussing suicide could be viewed on the site, which is hugely popular among teenagers. Mr Russell said Molly, who went to Hatch End High School in Harrow, Middlesex, had started viewing disturbing posts on the social network without the family's knowledge. He told the BBC: 'She seemed to be a very ordinary teenager. She was future-looking. She was enthusiastic. 'She handed her homework in that night. She packed her bags and was preparing to go to school the next day and then when we woke up the next morning, she was dead.' It was only after her death in 2017 that the teenager's parents delved into her social media accounts and realised she was viewing distressing images. One account she followed featured an image of a blindfolded girl, seemingly with bleeding eyes, hugging a teddy bear. The caption read: 'This world is so cruel, and I don't wanna to see it any more.' Mr Russell said Molly had access to 'quite a lot of content' that raised concern. 'There were accounts from people who were depressed or self-harming or suicidal,' he said. 'Quite a lot of that content was quite positive. Perhaps groups of people who were trying to help each other out, find ways to remain positive to stop self-harming. 'But some of that content is shocking in that it encourages self-harm, it links self-harm to suicide and I have no doubt that Instagram helped kill my daughter. The posts on those sites are so often black and white, they're sort of fatalistic. [They say] there's no hope, join our club, you're depressed, I'm depressed, there's lots of us, come inside this virtual club.' Pictured: One of the images that was shared on Instagram depicting people harming themselves Mr Russell, who directed the BBC coverage of the Queen's 90th birthday service at St Paul's Cathedral, questioned why huge numbers of posts were still available to view on Instagram despite repeated warnings by experts. Algorithms on Instagram mean that youngsters who view one account glorifying self-harm and suicide can see recommendations to follow similar sites. Experts say some images on the website, which has a minimum joining age of 13, may act as an 'incitement' to self-harm. Instagram's guidelines say posts should not 'glorify self-injury' while searches using suspect words, such as 'self-harm', are met with a warning. But users are easily able to view the pictures by ignoring the offers of help. Ged Flynn, from suicide prevention charity Papyrus, said: 'Suicide is not a hashtag. It is an unimaginable, devastating tragedy. 'If an algorithm behind a social media platform is engineered to encourage further access, in this case it must be looked at more seriously.' He told the BBC: 'I would say [Instagram] need to look long and hard about changing their algorithms and do it now. It cannot be right that a child can access such graphic imagery.' Hospital admissions for self-harming among girls under 18 has almost doubled over the past 20 years, from 7,327 in 1997 to 13,463 in 2017. Instagram said: 'Our thoughts go out to Molly's family and anyone dealing with the issues raised. We do not allow content that promotes or glorifies eating disorders, self-harm or suicide and work hard to remove it. 'However, for many young people, discussing their mental health journey or connecting with others who have battled similar issues, is an important part of their recovery. 'This is why we don't remove certain content and instead offer people looking at, or posting it, support when they might need it most.' Jackie Doyle-Price, minister for suicide prevention, announced on Tuesday that the Government aims to reduce suicides by at least 10% by 2020. Ms Doyle-Price said: 'As a society we need to do everything we can to support vulnerable and at-risk people, as well as those in crisis, and give them the help they desperately need. 'I will be working with local councils, the NHS and the justice system to make sure suicide prevention plans are put in place across public services.' She also said she will be working 'collaboratively' with social media and tech companies to achieve their goals. For confidential support, log on to samaritans.org or call the Samaritans on 116123.<doc-sep>
The father of a young girl who took her own life claims Instagram ‘helped kill my daughter’. Molly Russell, 14, was found dead in her bedroom in November 2017 after showing ‘no obvious signs’ of severe mental health issues. Her family later found she had been looking at material on social media linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide. Molly Russell, 14, was found dead in her bedroom in November 2017 after showing ‘no obvious signs’ of severe mental health issue (Picture: PA) Molly’s father, Ian Russell, now says the algorithms used by Instagram led to Molly be able to see more harmful content, possibly contributing to her death. Mr Russell told the BBC: ‘I have no doubt that Instagram helped kill my daughter. She had so much to offer and that’s gone.’ In a statement on Wednesday, he said: ‘We are very keen to raise awareness of the harmful and disturbing content that is freely available to young people online. ‘Not only that, but the social media companies, through their algorithms, expose young people to more and more harmful content, just from one click on one post. Her family later found she had been looking at material on social media linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide. (Picture: PA) ‘In the same way that someone who has shown an interest in a particular sport may be shown more and more posts about that sport, the same can be true of topics such as self-harm or suicide.’ Amazon mocked for AmaZen mental health 'cry closets' set up on factory floor An Instagram spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts go out to Molly’s family and anyone dealing with the issues raised in this report. ‘We do not allow content that promotes or glorifies eating disorders, self-harm or suicide and work hard to remove it. ‘However, for many young people, discussing their mental health journey or connecting with others who have battled similar issues, is an important part of their recovery. ‘This is why we don’t remove certain content and instead offer people looking at, or posting it, support when they might need it most.’ Ian Russell, Molly’s father, now says the algorithms used by Instagram led to Molly be able to see more harmful content, possibly contributing to her death (Picture: BBC News) An inquest into Molly’s death is expected later this year (Picture: PA) An inquest into Molly’s death is expected later this year. Yesterday, minister for suicide prevention Jackie Doyle-Price announced that the Government aims to reduce suicides by at least 10% by 2020. She said: ‘As a society we need to do everything we can to support vulnerable and at-risk people, as well as those in crisis, and give them the help they desperately need. ‘I will be working with local councils, the NHS and the justice system to make sure suicide prevention plans are put in place across public services.’ She also said she will be working ‘collaboratively’ with social media and tech companies to achieve their goals. Mr Russell welcomed the announcement and called on social media companies to be ‘more responsible in relation to harmful content’ and to provide users with more prominent information about getting help. Need support? Contact the Samaritans For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.