Threads and Instagram to Finally Recommend Political Content

Threads and Instagram will soon start recommending political content, offering a new way to expand your political perspectives on social media platforms.

Meta Introduces New Changes to Moderation Policies

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, is continuing to overhaul its moderation and content rules. One significant change is the management of political content on Instagram and Threads.

Political Content Now Featured in Recommendations

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, has announced that political content will now be included in user recommendations on both platforms. This shift reverses last year’s policy which required users to opt-in to see political content. Now, there will be three levels of political content exposure users can select from: less, standard (the default setting), and more.

“It has proven impractical to draw a firm line around what is and isn’t political content,” Mosseri stated. This update will start rolling out in the United States this week and will expand globally in the coming weeks.

A Series of Strategic Shifts at Meta

This announcement is part of a series of changes at Meta, which appear to be efforts to curry favor with President-elect Donald Trump. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, mentioned that the company would phase out third-party fact-checkers in favor of a “Community Notes” model for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, similar to the approach taken by X (formerly Twitter).

Furthermore, Nick Clegg has stepped down as Meta’s president of global affairs, replaced by Joel Kaplan, who has strong ties with Republican leaders in Washington DC.

Errors in Moderation

Recently, Instagram was also found to have blocked several LGBTQ hashtags, treating them as “sexually suggestive material” for months. The company acknowledged this as a mistake.