Instagram and Threads "won't proactively recommend" political content anymore as a step to reduce political disinformation ahead of the 2024 Elections.
In a blog post last week, Instagram announced that political posts and contents related to laws, elections, and social topics will not show as much anymore on its in-feed and explore recommendations.
Users will still see the political posts if they follow the account via their Feed and Stories. Future improvements to the recommendation system will also allow users better control over the contents they see.
Instagram will note the accounts if their posts qualify as political content and allow users to edit or remove the post from the Account Status settings.
The content recommendation changes are expected to also roll out on Facebook "at a later date."
Meta Takes Step to Combat Political Disinformation
The changes in content recommendations on Instagram and Threads follow after Meta vowed to reduce political disinformation on its platforms ahead of the 2024 Elections.
Meta's platforms, particularly Facebook, have been criticized before for allowing political disinformation and misinformation to spread on its platform.
Online watchdogs and even its own oversight board have scrutinized Meta for policies full of loopholes that allow bad actors to post false information en masse.
The company has already announced that it will be hiring more independent fact-checkers for Threads, as well as new policies for manipulated media on Facebook and Instagram.
Concerns for Meta Censorship
As Meta moves towards prioritizing influencers and viral posts, activists and concerned groups see the platform further censoring topics away from
Human Right's Watch previously blasted Meta for heavily censoring pro-Palestinian posts as "hate speeches," practically hampering the spread of information from Gaza amid conflicts in the Middle East.
The conflict in Gaza has been a common discussion point on social media platforms in relation to the upcoming presidential elections due to the US involvement with Israel.
So far, Meta is in the process of deciding whether to start censoring the word "Zionists" across its platforms, a term many pro-Palestine posts often used to argue with pro-Israel accounts.
