Under the direction of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Meta has greatly reduced the profile of political content on its platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Following the riot on Capitol Hill of Jan 6, 2021, Zuckerberg vowed to lessen the amount of political content on his social media empire in the next presidential election cycle. His strategy can be felt across the platforms in 2024 with app settings automatically set to deemphasize posts that users see about candidates and campaigns.
The outlet reported that Zuckerberg has also opted not to have a political war room this year, as it did in previous election cycles.
The changes at Meta come on the heels of a letter Zuckerberg sent to the House Judiciary Committee in August where he hoped to pivot his company away from politics, appearing "neutral" and not even playing a role.
"It's quite the pendulum swing because a decade ago, everyone at Facebook was desperate to be the face of elections," said Katie Harbath, chief executive of Anchor Change, a tech consulting firm who previously worked at Facebook.
Meta confirmed that even though it has toned down the quantity of political posts in public feeds it has not affected engagement, indicating it users agreed with the changes.
"As we've said for years, people have told us they want to see less politics overall while still being able to engage with political content on our platforms if they want to, and that's exactly what we've been doing," said Dani Lever, a Meta spokesperson.
The company has stated that while politics will not be front and center in public feeds, the company has invested $20 billion and 40,000 employees working to address misinformation, safety and security.
Earlier this month Meta banned Russian media outlets Rossiya Segodnya and RT from posting on company apps.
"No tech company does more to protect its platforms," Lever said, adding, "We have hundreds of people focused on elections work."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.