Instagram Blocks Searches for 'Democrats,' Promises Quick Fix Amid Bias Accusations

Meta says its working urgently 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, pointing out the issue has been occurring after President Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, which was attended by Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg. Meta has insisted that is not the case, saying it is a technical problem which has also affected other hashtags, including a Republican one. However, social media expert Matt Navarra said it was "embarrassing" for Instagram regardless."In a hyper-partisan environment, even unintentional errors like this can escalate into accusations of partisanship," he said.

Instagram users may have trouble searching for some hashtags, according Andy Stone, the head of communications for Meta, the parent company of the social media app. Stone responded on X to a Mashable article which is titled "Is Instagram blocking the #Democrat hashtag?" "There’s an issue affecting people’s ability to search for a number of different hashtags on Instagram - not just those on the left. We’re working quickly to resolve this," Stone said. It's unclear what particular hashtags are impacted or how long the search issue has existed. Some other users raised concerns Facebook was forcing them to follow President Donald Trump or the Trump White House's accounts after following former President Joe Biden when he was in office.

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