Instagram and Threads Limit Political Content Reach as Election Season Approaches
With the upcoming elections on the horizon, Instagram and Threads are taking steps to reduce the amount of political content that appears in many users’ feeds. By default, these changes restrict the visibility of political posts from accounts not directly followed by the user. If you’re curious about reversing these settings and restoring political content to your feed, check out our guide on adjusting Instagram’s political preferences.
Meta’s Efforts to Minimize News and Political Content
Meta has been working to decrease the prominence of news and political content across its platforms, particularly when it comes to algorithmically suggested content as opposed to posts from directly connected individuals or accounts. Adam Mosseri, head of Threads, stated last year that while the platform will allow news content, it will not actively promote it:
Threads is not going to amplify news on the platform.
Meanwhile, Facebook is taking steps to shut down its News Tab and continues to block news content in Canada due to ongoing disputes with legislation that would require platforms to compensate publishers for their content.
Defining Political Content on Instagram
The scope of what Instagram considers political is both broad and somewhat ambiguous, encompassing anything “potentially related to things like laws, elections, or social topics.” To gain a deeper understanding of why these changes have been implemented and what they reveal about Meta’s priorities across its vast social media landscape, be sure to watch today’s episode below.
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Grace Turner: So, Instagram’s cutting back on the doomscrolling factory; about time we focused on pet videos, huh
Instagram’s saying “later” to the heavy stuff; hello again, vacation envy and foodie shots!
Instagram’s finally caught on that we’re scrolling for cat memes, not political debates!
Instagram’s pivot away from the noise – guess it’s back to brunch pics and influencers, then.