Instagram users will now encounter less "political" content in their recommendations and feed suggestions, unless they actively opt for it, as per a recent update by Meta, the parent company of Instagram. This modification, implemented in the past week, requires users to navigate their settings and specifically opt in to view political content through their preferences. The change, initially announced on February 9th, has been noticed by users on the platform in recent days.
This alteration impacts the content displayed in the explore section, Reels, and in-feed recommendations and suggested users on Instagram. However, Meta emphasizes that users will still see political content from accounts they already follow.
Meta defines political content as encompassing "laws, elections, or social topics," albeit without providing precise details regarding what falls under this category. This adjustment applies to both Instagram and Threads. Accounts flagged by Meta for posting political content have the option to appeal against the decision if they believe it has been applied unfairly.
In February, Meta elucidated its decision, emphasizing its commitment to ensuring a positive experience for all users on Instagram and Threads. They stated, "If you decide to follow accounts that post political content, we don’t want to get between you and their posts, but we also don’t want to proactively recommend political content from accounts you don’t follow."
When queried about the change, a spokesperson for Meta directed inquiries to the February blog post. Meta intends to extend this modification to Facebook at a later date.
Instagram has recently faced criticism for allegedly censoring content related to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Additionally, there have been concerns regarding the algorithm on Facebook fueling political polarization worldwide. However, a study during the 2020 US election revealed that changes to the algorithm did not significantly alter people's political perceptions.
This update on Instagram reflects Meta's ongoing efforts to disassociate its platforms from political and news content. The company is also set to retire the news tab from Facebook amid disputes with news publishers and the Australian government over payment for news content.
The news tab will be phased out in early April in Australia and the US. Meta announced earlier this month that it would not engage in new deals with Australian news publishers for payment for news content on Facebook.
The Albanese government is currently deliberating whether to designate Meta under the 2021 News Media Bargaining Code, which would compel Meta to negotiate with publishers or face fines of up to 10% of Australian revenue. Meta contends that news content constitutes less than 3% of user engagement on Facebook.
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