Instagram is limiting the amount of political content we can see from accounts we don't follow. You may have noticed people bringing your attention to the update on their personal Instagram Stories over the weekend.

Given how much power Meta holds, it's natural that people are concerned by the apparent move to diminish political engagement – particularly from those outside your own echochamber. After all, the US is gearing up for a major presidential election and right now social media is an essential platform for Palestinian journalists reporting from Gaza.

Perhaps it's this very reason that Meta has decided to introduce the feature, given past criticism for fanning the flames of discord in the lead up to the previous two US presidential elections. However, what we know is that burying our heads in the sand and opting out of political content altogether is equally dangerous. So here's how to fix your feed.

How to change the amount of political content you see on Instagram

First, open your Instagram app, tap the sidebar and click on "Settings and privacy". From there, you'll want to scroll down and find "Suggested content". Once here look for "Political content", it will resemble the following image.

You then are given two options; the first and default is to limit political content, the second says "Don't limit political content from people that you don't follow". If you can't see the option for political content, you may need to update your Instagram app to the latest version.

It's important to note that this only limits content you encounter in Explore, Reels, feed recommendations and suggested users. It won't affect the accounts you already follow.

Though it does cause one to question what Meta defines as political content? After all, it's like Thomas Mann said, isn't everything politics? What happens when some groups or bodies or people are deemed more political than others?

 

Image by Freepik