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Instagram Starts Labeling Accounts And Posts From ‘State-Controlled Media'

In the Now on Instagram - state-controlled media label

With the election getting nearer in the U.S., things should be done to limit the influence of other countries to U.S. citizens' opinions.

Back in June, Facebook started labeling posts from state-controlled media - a move it had announced a year prior.

And this time, it's Instagram's turn to bring a similar warning.

First spotted by journalist Casey Michel, Instagram is shown labeling both the accounts and posts from state-controlled media.

The label below the affected accounts, are shown quite prominently. And as for the posts, the label is put right under the account name.

While Facebook's move was announced a year prior to the launch, Instagram's move was quite a sudden.

This made some of the affected outlets to begun reacting to the appearances of the labels on their profiles.

Some of these accounts, include Redfish and In the Now, both of which have hundreds of thousands of followers.

When Instagram users, initially in the U.S., click or tap on the warning label, Instagram will show a pop up that tells them: “Instagram believes this publisher may be wholly or partially under the editorial control of a state.”

Clicking or tapping on a ‘learn more’ link will take users to an Instagram Help page where Instagram goes into the details.

"Instagram seeks to identify these organizations by using our definition and standards to review the available information about their ownership, governance, sources of funding, and processes that may help to ensure editorial independence."

The company also noted that:

"We do not consider public media organizations that are publicly financed, retain a public service mission, and demonstrate independent editorial control to be state-controlled media under our definition and will not apply the label to these organizations at this time."

Instagram on the page explained some of the criteria it uses to identify state-controlled accounts, which include things like ownership structures and editorial guidelines.

But if affected accounts believe that they have been wrongly labeled by Instagram, they can appeal the decision.

"We appreciate that not all organizations will agree with Instagram’s assessment. Organizations that believe they are mislabeled can submit an appeal. This appeals form can only be viewed by the account owner," wrote Instagram.

Going forward, Facebook said that it has plans to add the labels to ads as well “in the months to come.”

When the company first detailed the policy back in June, it said that it had consulted with 65 experts to create an internal criteria for deciding when the “state-controlled” label is appropriate.

Instagram is rolling the labels out mere weeks before the 2020 presidential election on November 3rd. Its hopes include a history that won't repeat itself.

Further reading: Dealing With Political Ads: Facebook Plays Hard, Twitter Plays Safe, Google Is In The Middle