Instagram Zaps “Recent” Tab To Fight Election Disinfo

Reuters reports:

Facebook Inc’s Instagram said today it was making changes to its image sharing platform for U.S. users to prevent the spread of misinformation around the Nov. 3 presidential election.

For users in the United States, Instagram temporarily removed the “Recent” tab from hashtag pages starting Thursday, it said in a statement on Twitter. “We’re doing this to reduce the real-time spread of potentially harmful content that could pop up around the election,” the statement added.

Instagram’s “Recent” tab arranges hashtags in chronological order and amplifies content. Researchers have cautioned that automated amplification can lead to the rapid spread of misinformation on the platform.