Users are now sharing online that Instagram has removed the political content found on its feed and more, but it is actually an update that the company shared in February that limits those kinds of posts on the platform.
This is because Instagram limited the political content found on the platform by default, with many complaining about it on other platforms.
Additionally, Instagram did not notify its users on the platform about this change, leading to this massive discovery now and people getting concerned about it.
Instagram Limits Political Content on Platform
(Photo : Meta)
Another user also raised this concern about the limited political content on the platform and shared a screenshot which she said alerted her about the feature. In the screenshot, the user claimed that "Meta is suppressing political content" and urged other users to check their settings and change them to show these kinds of posts.
This centers on the February update from Meta, which centered on turning Instagram and Threads' feed to suggest less political content on its feed. Meta said in its update that it would not "proactively recommend" political posts, but for those who are following such accounts, it would not be removed.
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Here's How to Bring Political Content Back
To opt-in to the political content on Instagram, users only have to go to their Profile and click the hamburger menu to bring up Settings and Privacy. After that, scroll down to Suggested Content, which holds the Political Content settings. Here, they may change the default 'Limit' to 'Don't Limit' to bring back suggested political posts.
Instagram and Meta's Political Changes
Earlier this year, Meta revealed to the world its update on its latest approach toward ceasing political content recommendations on Instagram and Threads. Unlike other platforms that welcome this, Meta has taken a proactive approach towards limiting these kinds of posts, with users having the chance to opt in if they want to see these kinds of content online.
As part of its efforts towards election integrity, Meta also decided to remove all political ads that use generative AI elements or were created using it on its platforms. This comes alongside an industry-wide restriction that looks to thwart election misinformation campaigns by bad actors or those who spread fake news online.
There is still a significant fight against deepfake election threats present in the country, with Meta among those with power to stop this spread.
However, Instagram and Threads are not only fighting against election misinformation as they limit all political content on their platforms by default.
Users have raised their concerns online, claiming that there is no kind of political content on Instagram as some prefer it during this time, when the 2024 US elections are nearing—something which they can change in their settings with a tap.
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