Earlier this year, Meta decided to automatically limit political content in recommendations on Threads and Instagram. They didn’t want to promote political posts but allowed users to choose to see them by changing their Instagram settings.
However, it was discovered that even users who opted in to see political content still had it limited. A glitch caused the setting to reset to “limit” every time the app was closed, ignoring users’ preferences. Political content includes posts about governments, elections, or social issues.
Meta Error Limits Political Content on Threads and Instagram Despite User Preferences
The error was brought to attention by Threads users, including Democratic strategist Keith Edwards, and confirmed by Engadget. The duration of the issue remained unclear. Meta’s spokesperson, Andy Stone, acknowledged the mistake on Threads, stating that the error should not have happened and that the company was working on fixing it. Meta did not provide further details on the timeline of the error.
This issue is likely to spark debates about Meta’s approach to political content. While Threads is often compared to X (formerly Twitter), Meta has adopted a stringent content moderation policy, restricting the visibility of political content and blocking potentially sensitive topics like COVID-19 from search results.
Stone later confirmed that the bug had been fixed. He clarified that the error caused users’ political content settings to appear reset, even though no actual change had occurred. Stone encouraged users to check their settings to ensure they reflected their preferences.
