Meta will no longer recommend political content to users on Insta, Threads

NEW DELHI: Meta (formerly Facebook) has said that it will not proactively suggest political content to users by default on Instagram and Threads.

Instagram boss Adam Mosseri announced the change in a Threads post on Friday and said that users will still see political content from accounts they follow, but the apps will no longer "proactively amplify" such posts.

Taking effect "in the next few weeks," the change will apply to public accounts where Meta's algorithm recommends content, such as Instagram's Reels and Explore, and suggested users on Threads.

"Over the next few weeks we will be improving how we avoid recommending content about politics on recommendation surfaces -- like Explore, Reels, and Suggested Users -- across both Instagram and Threads," Mosseri said.

However, for people who still want to see such type of political content on Threads and Instagram recommendation surfaces, the company has offered a control from which they can choose to see it.

Users will need to go to the Suggested content tab and then click Political content. From there they can choose between the 'Don't Limit' or 'Limit' options as per their preference.

This control will also roll out on Facebook at a later date, the company said.

The tech giant also noted that Professional accounts on Instagram will be able to use Account Status to check their eligibility to be recommended based on whether they recently posted political content.

"From Account Status, they can edit or remove recent posts, request a review if they disagree with our decision, or stop posting this type of content for a period of time, in order to be eligible to be recommended again," the company stated.