Instagram disclosed that it would remove the “Recent” tab from its hashtag pages for people in the United States of America.
The social networking and video sharing service stated this on its official Twitter handle. It said it is “doing this to reduce the real-time spread of potentially harmful content that could pop up around the election.”
Starting today, for people in the U.S. we will temporarily remove the “Recent” tab from hashtag pages. We’re doing this to reduce the real-time spread of potentially harmful content that could pop up around the election.
— Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) October 29, 2020
Sources had reported on Instagram’s apology for its algorithm malfunction that led to the flagging of #EndSARS posts as fake.
Instagram has also taken the following measures to ensure a successful November election.
- The registration of 4.4 million votes this year through its flagship platform – Instagram and Messenger.
- Serving as a means of information and tool to people in the US on the electoral process
- The ban of any content that can thwart the success of the election.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, said he was perturbed about the high risks for civil unrest in the US due to the upcoming presidential election.
“I’m worried that with our nation so divided and election results potentially taking days or weeks to be finalized, there is a risk of civil unrest across the country.”
Furthermore, he disclosed on a call while discussing Facebook’s Q3 earnings, that “given this, companies like ours need to go well beyond what we’ve done before.”
Why this matters
The aim of the short-term decision is to decrease the spread of misinformation in the forthcoming US election.
