It can be exhausting when you turn to social media to escape the woes of a tense political day-to-day, only to find that you're bombarded there, too, with political discourse.
That's why Meta has announced a new, bold step to enhance user experience and alleviate the fatigue associated with constant exposure to political content on Instagram and Threads.
Recognizing the overwhelming nature of political messages, the social media platforms have unveiled an update to their recommendation systems which aims to empower users by giving them more control over the content that fills their feeds, ensuring a more enjoyable and personalized social media experience.
Tailored Recommendations: Filtering Out the Political Noise
In an official statement, Meta announced its commitment to providing a positive and tailored experience for every user. As a result, the update focuses on curbing the proactive recommendation of political content, striking a balance between user preferences and the need for diverse content on the platforms.
Users will no longer find themselves inundated with political posts from accounts they do not follow, as the platforms prioritize creating a more focused and enjoyable environment.
These recommendations updates apply to public accounts and in places where recommended content appears, such as Explore, Reels, In-Feed Recommendations and Suggested Users.
However, it does not alter how content is displayed from accounts users actively choose to follow, preserving individual choice and freedom within the platforms.
Empowering Professional Accounts: The Account Status Feature
Professional accounts, as well, 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 Meta's decision, or stop posting this type of content for a period of time, in order to be eligible to be recommended again.
If people still want to see this type of political content on Threads and Instagram recommendation surfaces, there will be a control for people to choose to see it. This control will also roll out on Facebook at a later date.