Meta is facing scrutiny over a technical issue on Instagram, where searches for 'Democrat' or 'Democrats' yield a "results hidden" message. Critics have suggested this may reflect political bias, particularly following President Donald Trump's inauguration. Social media expert Matt Navarra indicated that the problem, while likely technical, is particularly damaging in today's hyper-partisan climate. Meta acknowledged the error and conveyed that it spans political hashtags. The issue has led to significant disparities, with 'Republican' hashtags having millions of posts available, raising concerns over content moderation practices and potential reputational damage.
"In a hyper-partisan environment, even unintentional errors like this can escalate into accusations of partisanship. If these issues are not resolved quickly, they risk fuelling conspiracy theories and damaging Meta's reputation."
"We're aware of an error affecting hashtags across the political spectrum and we are working quickly to resolve it," Meta told the BBC in a statement.
"Some social media users have accused the company of political bias, pointing out the issue has been occurring after President Donald Trump's inauguration."
"By manually searching Instagram for 'Democrats', users are greeted by a screen reading 'we've hidden these results...'"
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