Instagram joins Facebook in its bid to bury Russian state media in its app. The app will now downgrade state media posts in its feed and in stories, and add prominent tags to discourage other users from sharing their posts.
“Instagram believes the account that created this post may be partially or fully under the editorial control of the Russian government,” the labels warn. Users who share links to Russian state media through the app’s link sticker will also have their posts demoted to their followers’ stories trays. Instagram is also removing Russian state media accounts from recommendations in Reels and Explore, and making the accounts harder to find in search.
Instagram’s update follows a similar move by Facebook. In addition to limiting content from Russian state media, the social network also relied on Russian advertisers and took down a network that fueled pro-Russian propaganda. In response to Facebook’s crackdown on state media, the Russian government blocked access to the social network. Above all, it blocks Instagram, at least for now.
Instagram is also strengthening some privacy features for accounts in Ukraine and Russia. The app will hide follower details for all private accounts in countries so people can’t see other people’s followers or those who follow private accounts. The app will also highlight its tools to bulk delete past activity and download their account data.
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