Instagram users might notice even less political content in their feeds these days, although this time it has nothing to do with Meta's Canadian news block.
Instagram has started an automatic clampdown on the amount of political content — which it defines as posts about laws, elections or social topics — appearing in its users' feeds from accounts people don't already follow.
According to tech reporting site Ars Technica, Instagram didn't appear to notify its users directly that the previously announced change had taken place.
There is a relatively quick and easy way to turn off the controls, but the change comes during a year of crucial elections in the U.S. and other countries, and also follows Meta's ban on Canadian news for all Canadian users in response to Bill C-18.
Many outraged users are complaining about censorship and a limit on political discourse, with some worried Instagram's definition of political content is so broad that "even posts that aren't 'political' could be brushed under the rug."
Meta/Instagram limited my ability to view “political content.” Defined to include content re: “government, elections, or social topics that affect people or society.” My “default” setting was to censor. This is not okay. pic.twitter.com/mSk95ySq0F
—"Instagram quietly introducing a 'political' content preference and turning on 'limit' by default is insane," one user wrote on the social media platform X.
"My 'default' setting was to censor. This is not okay," a civil rights attorney posted.
As part of an initiative Instagram announced last month, the popular social media service owned by Meta Platforms has stopped "proactively" recommending political content posted on accounts that users don't choose to follow.
To do that, Instagram has automatically set the "political content" control to "limit" on user accounts.
The limits also affect users with Threads accounts tied to their Instagram accounts, and will roll out on Facebook "at a later date," the company announced.
"If you decide to follow accounts that post political content, we don't want to get between you and their posts, but we also don't want to proactively recommend political content from accounts you don't follow," the announcement notes.
Where people get their news
But that's the very problem, Keith Edwards, a Democratic political strategist and content creator, told the Washington Post last month.
"The whole value-add for social media, for political people, is that you can reach normal people who might not otherwise hear a message that they need to hear, like, abortion is on the ballot in Florida, or voting is happening today," Edwards said.
"There's TV ads, but who watches TV anymore? Most people are on their phones, and Meta apps are where most people hang out."
A 2023 report from the Pew Research Center found that half of the 8,842 U.S. adults polled get their news "at least sometimes" from social media. Facebook, YouTube and Instagram were the top platforms people said they used for reading the news.
Social media is the most common news source among Canadians aged 15 to 24, with 62 per cent saying they get their information this way, Statistics Canada said in a report last month.
Twenty-four million Canadians use Facebook and Instagram. As of August last year, in response to Canada's Online News Act, news links and content posted on Meta by news publishers and broadcasters in Canada are no longer viewable by people in Canada.
How to get around the political content block
Here's how to avoid Instagram's political curbs in just a few steps:
- To open up the political spigot again on Instagram, open the app on your smartphone. Then tap the three-dash menu at the top right.
- Navigate to "Settings and Privacy," then choose "Content Preferences," then open the "Political Content" menu.
- Find and turn on the "Don't Limit" option.
- Once that is done, you should once again start to see posts relating to government, elections and other political matters shared from accounts that you don't follow flowing through your feed.
