why Instagram puts the brakes on political topics (and how to divert this new setting)

In order to “provide a pleasant experience for everyone”, the giant Meta has decided to put less emphasis on political content on Instagram and Threads. A decision that could, in reality, restrict users from a lot of information.

There is something new on the networks, and is Meta having an allergic reaction to political content? In a memo published on February 9, 2024, the parent company of Instagram and Threads announced that it did not want “proactively recommend political content from accounts you don’t follow” on these two platforms.

In short, the publications of the accounts to which you are subscribed will not change. On the other hand, your “Explore”, “Reels” page and other content and profile recommendations should be drastically different. It is in these spaces, which bring together accounts that you do not follow, that politics is no longer welcome. But the exclusion doesn’t stop there.

“Political content may mention governments, elections, or issues of a social nature that affect a group of people and/or society as a whole“, we can read in the Instagram settings.

Thus, the legislative elections – poll which provoked “more media noise than the last two presidential elections”according to a study, published Wednesday June 26, from the Jean-Jaurès Foundation – are directly targeted in this new regulation… But also subjects much further removed from current political affairs. By discussing topics “of a social nature“, Meta can thus put under cover topics on the lackluster performance of the Blues at Euro 2024, or even the reopening of the A13 motorway in the west of Paris. In fact, a good number of topics said ” of society” can thus fall, in Meta’s terms, under the political banner.

The modification is already effective: it is up to each user to deactivate (or not) this function. To return to a classic view, you will need to select the option “Do not limit political content from accounts you do not follow”, according to the following tree structure: Settings and activities > What you see > Suggested content > Political content .

If Facebook, owned by Meta, is not yet affected, “this feature [y] will be deployed at a later date“, details the company.