Facebook to Restore Political Content - Instagram & Threads Too

Meta Revisions Political Content Policies

In a substantial update to its content moderation practices revealed on Tuesday, Meta acknowledged its previous strategy for curtailing political content across its platforms was overly restrictive. The company announced it will now reintroduce political content gradually to Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, catering to users who actively seek such material in their feeds.

Reduction in Political Content Since 2021

Meta reported in a blog post that the volume of political content on its applications has decreased since 2021. This adjustment stemmed from user feedback indicating a preference for reduced exposure to this type of content.

Backlash Over Proactive Recommendation Changes

Meta’s decision in early 2024 to halt proactive recommendations of political content on Instagram and Threads—a move coinciding with a crucial U.S. presidential election year—prompted criticism from both users and content creators.

An open letter signed by numerous creators in April argued that limiting political content should be an opt-in feature, rather than the default setting.

Concerns Regarding Content Definition

Creators expressed particular concern over Meta’s definition of political content. Instagram defines it as material relating to legislation, elections, or societal issues, potentially restricting discussions on topics like climate change, gun control, and reproductive rights.

These changes also raised worries about diminished reach and audience growth, directly impacting creators’ branding and revenue streams.

User Concerns and Technical Issues

Users voiced concerns that Meta’s alterations were suppressing their voices on social media. Further complicating matters, a technical “bug” subsequently reappeared, resetting user preferences to default settings and again limiting political content from accounts they didn’t directly follow.

Persistent Demand for Political Content

Despite these changes, a consistent demand for political content persisted, particularly on Threads, Meta’s alternative to X/Twitter, where it frequently dominated trending topics.

A More Personalized Approach

Meta outlined its plans to modify the handling of political content in user feeds, emphasizing a “more personalized approach.”

The company will now treat “civic content” from followed accounts and Pages on Facebook similarly to other content, ranking and displaying it based on user engagement signals, such as likes and views.

Expanded Control Options

Meta will also leverage these personalized signals to recommend more political content and broaden the options available to users for managing their content exposure.

This includes implementing specific controls for Facebook users, supplementing existing options on Instagram and Threads. The timing of the Facebook controls’ availability remains unspecified.

Clarification on Expanded Controls

It has been clarified that the “expanded controls” refer to the addition of Facebook controls to the existing control systems already available on Instagram and Threads.