Threads and Instagram users will see more political content from people they don’t follow, parent company Meta said.
The company claims to be part of its reorientation towards “free expression” – a move which has seen it abandon the fact checkers Tuesday.
The change will be introduced in the United States this week before rolling out globally shortly after.
This represents a turnaround from the head of both platforms, Adam Mosseri, who previously said he was not in favor of them promoting posts about politics and current affairs.
Explaining the change, he suggested that users had “asked to see more” of this type of content.
But Drew Bviens, managing director of social media consultancy Battenhall, questioned whether this was accurate, saying the appeal of Instagram and Threads was that they were “safe spaces” free from “turbulent developments » observed on platforms such as X.
The real motivation lies in the “change in political winds” in the United States, he explained, where Donald Trump will soon return to the White House.
He predicted it could push people toward competitors such as Bluesky, but said he also worried about the impact on those who remained on Meta platforms.
The changes made this week “will pave the way for the rapid spread of enormous amounts of misinformation across a user base of more than 2 billion,” he warned.
In 2023, Mr Mosseri said Threads and Instagram should focus on “amazing communities” such as “sports, music and fashion”.
“Any additional engagement or revenue they might generate is not at all worth the scrutiny, negativity (let’s be honest) or integrity risks that come with them,” he said. wrote in a Threads article at the time.
But in a new post on the platform, he now explained why this position was abandoned, believing that it had “proved impractical to draw a red line between what is and what is not political content” – and users demanded to see more, not less.
Mr Mosseri said Instagram – which Meta acquired for $1 billion in 2012 – was founded on the values of creativity and “giving everyone a voice”.
“I hope this focus on freedom of expression will help us do a little bit better on that path,” he said. in an Instagram video.
There was considerable criticism changes that Meta has already announced, with concerns expressed about the impact on minority groups.
Some users also reacted with dismay to these latest changes on Threads and Instagram.
“Well, it’s time to delete the Threads app. It was good while it lasted,” one Threads user said in response to Mr. Mosseri’s posts.
On Instagram – where Mr Mosseri said politically focused accounts “no longer have to worry about becoming unsavory” to other users – some users hailed the move as “a good step towards freedom on the platform “.
However, many have also expressed concern about the effect that increasing content recommendations on social and political issues could have on amplifying misinformation and hate speech.
Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communications at Cornell University, said there would be “winners and losers” from changes to Meta’s content moderation.
“Marginalized creators, including women, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community, are likely to face increased harm with fewer redress mechanisms,” she told BBC News.
“At the same time, we may see an increase in content created by far-right or ideologically extreme influencers, given the relaxation of hate speech policies.”