Instagram's Engagement Drop for Political Posts

In recent months, an alarming trend has emerged among Instagram users who post about political subjects. Ariel Fodor, also known as 'Mrs. Frazzled', a popular creator and former teacher, noticed that her posts relating to the upcoming elections garnered significantly less engagement compared to her usual content. An analysis of six months of data revealed that her political posts had an audience that was, on average, 40% smaller than her other content. This trend isn't isolated; an advocacy group, Accountable Tech, found that other Instagram accounts focusing primarily on political themes experienced audience visibility declines of up to 65% over the summer. The root of this issue appears to stem from Instagram's current algorithm that seems to prioritize non-political content, downplaying posts of social or political nature. Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has acknowledged this shift in their engagement strategy but has been vague about the specific topics that are being suppressed. One glaring example given in the analysis is the word 'vote'. When Mrs. Frazzled included this word in her captions, her audience dropped by over 60%. This raises profound questions about the implications of algorithm-driven visibility, as users may feel their voices are muted, especially during crucial political moments. The perception of reduced visibility creates a sense of hopelessness, akin to shouting into the void, making meaningful engagement on essential topics feel futile. Many are left asking why it’s acceptable to suppress discussions that mention voting or involve individual experiences with social issues, raising concerns about transparency and freedom of speech on social media platforms.