Quick Hit:
Instagram is again limiting political content just one day before the first presidential debate of 2024. Meta, the parent company, changed users' settings to automatically restrict the amount of political content they can see on the platform every time they exit and reopen the app.
Key Details:
- Earlier this year, Instagram required users to manually opt-in to see political content from accounts they do not follow. This move was widely criticized by political content creators.
-
Now, Meta has again updated Instagram’s settings to automatically limit political content in users’ feeds, every time users exit the app, regardless of their previous settings.
-
The update appears to have been implemented within the last 48 hours and was first noticed by prominent political accounts on Tuesday night.
Diving Deeper:
According to a report from Kyle Tharp of FWIW, Meta’s latest move to restrict political content on Instagram comes just one day before the highly anticipated presidential debate of 2024. This change automatically adjusts users’ settings to limit political content every time they exit the app, making it more difficult for users to view political content organically.
Several months ago, Instagram made headlines with a new policy that required users to go into their settings and opt-in to see political content from accounts they do not already follow. This decision faced backlash from many political creators, who urged their followers to update their settings to continue receiving political updates. The latest update takes this a step further by automatically restricting political content, regardless of users' previous choices.
The exact timing of this update is unclear, but it appears to have been implemented in the past 48 hours. It was first noticed by a group of large political accounts who spoke to Tharp on Tuesday night, raising concerns about Meta’s ongoing efforts to reduce political discourse on its platforms.
Now, to see political content, users need to manually change their settings each time they open the app. First, tap your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile. Next, tap the menu icon in the top right, select "Content preferences," and then tap "Political content." From there, you can choose to either limit or not limit political content from people you don't follow. Finally, tap "Confirm" to save your settings.