Instagram working to fix problem over hiding search results for 'Democrats'

Meta is working on an urgent basis to fix a problem with Instagram which results in a "results hidden" message when users search for the terms "Democrat" or "Democrats". Some social media users have accused the company of political bias, with Meta insisting that it is a technical problem which has also affected other hashtags, including a Republican one.

Meta accused of political bias

Some Instagram users pointed out the issue has been occurring after President Donald Trump's inauguration, which was attended by Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg.

While manually searching Meta’s Instagram for "Democrats", rather than clicking on a hashtag, users are greeted by a screen reading "we've hidden these results".

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"Results for the term you searched for may contain sensitive content," it says.

There are also limited results when people search for "Republicans" as opposed to "Republican".

"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.

This incident comes at a time of increased scrutiny over Meta’s handling of political content on its platforms. The company has faced criticism from various sides of the political spectrum, and its recent changes to content moderation policies have attracted further attention.

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