Despite Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg’s significant financial support for the 2020 presidential election to encourage voter participation, his company is now implementing restrictions on Instagram users’ access to political content in their feeds ahead of the upcoming November election.
Instagram users have noticed a change in their algorithm settings, with political content now being limited by default, prompting strong reactions online. Meta announced on Feb. 9 that it would be making changes to Instagram and Threads, stating that it would no longer actively recommend political content from accounts that users do not follow.
The company clarified that it would restrict political content related to “laws, elections, or social topics” from accounts that users do not follow, unless users opt otherwise. However, Meta did not provide specific details on what constitutes political content. The announcement did not mention that all users would be automatically switched to the default setting of limiting political content, which many users have observed over the past 48 hours.
Some users expressed outrage at what they perceived as censorship and a threat to democracy during crucial campaign months. Others, such as independent journalist Jessica Reed Kraus and citizen journalist Grant Godwin, criticized the move to their respective Instagram followers.
Users can check their settings to manage political content preferences, with options to “limit” or “don’t limit” content. Meta defended the change, stating that it builds on previous efforts to address user feedback and preferences regarding political content. The company clarified that the change affects content recommendations rather than posts from accounts users choose to follow, emphasizing user control over content recommendations.
