Meta -- the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads -- is rolling out changes to reduce the amount of political posts that users see in their feeds.
The company initially announced the changes in February, saying Instagram and Threads would no longer "proactively recommend" political content from accounts that users don't already follow.
"Our goal is to preserve the ability for people to choose to interact with political content, while respecting each person's appetite for it," Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said on Threads.
The change started unrolling for users last week, Meta confirmed to NPR. Users will still be able to see political content from accounts they follow.
Instagram users who still want to see recommended political content must opt-in by changing their settings. Under the "What you see" section, go to "Content preferences" and open the "Political content" page where you can select the "Don't limit political content" option.
Meta said the new feature will roll out on Facebook "at a later date."
As for what constitutes "political" content, a Meta spokesperson told CNN: "Informed by research, our definition of political content is content likely to be about topics related to government or elections; for example, posts about laws, elections, or social topics. These global issues are complex and dynamic, which means this definition will evolve as we continue to engage with the people and communities who use our platforms and external experts to refine our approach." Accounts are classified as political if "they've recently posted political content."
Meta executives say a shift away from news, especially politics, is simply what users want.
"People have told us they want to see less political content, so we have spent the last few years refining our approach on Facebook to reduce the amount of political content — including from politicians' accounts — you see in Feed, Reels, Watch, Groups You Should Join, and Pages You May Like," Meta explained in February.
While some people welcome the change, others have accused Meta of censorship during an election year.
"Instagram is now trying to suppress political content just months before the next presidential election. Why is Meta attempting to censor the democratic process?" Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee posted on X.