Categories: News

Instagram blocks searches for political hashtags due to “technical issue”

Instagram has blocked searches for a number of political hashtags, including #democrats, #democrat, #jan6th, #republicans and others. Users who tried to search for these hashtags saw a message saying «we have hidden these results because they may contain sensitive content», Engadget reports.

“Technical glitch” or political motives?

Meta says the problem is due to «technical glitch». Company spokesman Andy Stone noted in a post on Threads that the issue affected not only political hashtags but also other hashtags, and the company is working to resolve it.

The incident has sparked speculation of political motives due to the timing — the day after Donald Trump's inauguration. The context is also compounded by Meta's recent decisions to end fact-checking programs and relax content moderation standards.

The fact that the hashtags #Democrat and #republicans were blocked, while #republican remained available, adds to the severity of the situation. Users have also reported that tags like #constitution, #johnoliver, and #queer are unavailable.

This is not the first time Meta has blocked hashtags due to «errors». In 2020, the hashtag #blacklivesmatter was temporarily blocked, and previously, hashtags related to LGBTQ+ were marked as «sensitive content».

At the time of publication, most of the hashtags are now available, but Meta has not yet provided a detailed explanation for the situation.

Natasha Kumar

Natasha Kumar has been a reporter on the news desk since 2018. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Times Hub, Natasha Kumar worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my natasha@thetimeshub.in 1-800-268-7116

Share
Published by
Natasha Kumar

Recent Posts

Beata Klimek's husband presents a new version of events. The family reacts immediately

There is a dramatic fight for the truth about the disappearance of Beata Klimek-a 47-year-old…

2 minutes ago

Do not make this mistake during confession. Many do it unconsciously

Easter is approaching - a time of spiritual cleansing, reflection and reconciliation. < img src…

2 minutes ago

The second chance. Problem Boeing Starliner can send to orbit this year

< img src = "/uploads/blogs/c6/8c/ib-ibnuc_4999ea2a6.jpg" Alt = "Second chance. Problem Boeing Starliner can be sent…

2 minutes ago

Vietnamese developers presented domestic drones-Kamikadze on fiber-made fibers that work without GPS

< IMG SRC = "/Uploads/Blogs/56/67/IB-FRGO7A5I2_F4A499EA.jpg" Alt = "in ' Yetnamic developers presented domestic drones of…

2 minutes ago

Frankovian lost 43 thousand hryvnias after talking to a pseudobankir

< img src = "/uploads/blogs/95/73/IB-FRG27VN73_1973535.jpg" Alt = "The man lost 43 thousand hryvnias after talking…

1 hour ago