The adjustment to Instagram and Threads coincides with the parent company’s decision to discontinue the news tab on Facebook in Australia and the US
Instagram users will encounter fewer “political” content in their recommendations and feed suggestions from Meta unless they choose to opt in. This change, which the company rolled out in the past week, requires users to navigate their settings and explicitly opt in to view political content through their preferences. The implementation of this change was first noticed by platform users in recent days, following an announcement made on February 9.
The feature is believed to have been implemented in the last week. Based on Instagram’s version history in the Apple App Store, the most recent change before an update on Monday occurred a week ago.
This change impacts the explore, Reels, and in-feed recommendations and suggested users that Instagram displays to users. The company has emphasized that users will still see political content from the accounts they already follow.
Meta has defined political content as “laws, elections, or social topics,” without offering more detailed information on what constitutes political content.
The policy applies to both Instagram and Threads. Accounts identified by Meta as posting political content can appeal if they believe the decision to prevent their content from being recommended to users who haven’t opted in is incorrect. Meta stated in February that its focus was on ensuring a great experience for everyone on Instagram and Threads.
“If you choose to follow accounts that share political content, we don’t want to interfere with your access to their posts. However, we also don’t want to actively recommend political content from accounts you don’t follow.
On Tuesday, a Meta spokesperson referred Guardian Australia to the February blog post. The company stated that it would implement the same change on Facebook at a later time.
Instagram has recently been criticized for allegedly censoring content related to the Israel-Gaza war. It has also been dealing with the perception that the algorithm used for Facebook feeds has contributed to political polarization worldwide.
However, a study conducted during the 2020 US election found that changes to the algorithm did not alter people’s political perceptions, even after reducing the amount of political news visible on the platform.
The adjustment on Instagram reflects Meta’s broader strategy to distance its platforms from political and news content. This includes the upcoming removal of the news tab from Facebook, as Meta gears up for a legal battle against news publishers and the Australian government over news content payments.
The news tab is set to be phased out in early April in Australia and the US. Meta recently announced it would not be entering into new agreements with Australian news publishers for payment of news content on Facebook.
The Australian government is currently considering whether to designate Meta under the 2021 News Media Bargaining Code. This designation would require Meta to negotiate with publishers or face fines of up to 10% of its Australian revenue.
Meta contends that news content constitutes less than 3% of user engagement on Facebook.