Instagram rolls out “state-controlled media” labels

In a bid to fight misinformation, Instagram has started to label stated-controlled accounts and posts. This move follows Facebook’s own policies announced last year and implemented in June. Users can already spot the new labels on profile pages and posts. The US journalist Casey Michel was first to react with a post on Twitter, showing the aforementioned labels in action.

Instagram has begun rolling out new “state-controlled media” labels—here are the ones for Kremlin outlets aimed at younger Americans: pic.twitter.com/vyUySA1zbW

— Casey Michel (@cjcmichel) October 5, 2020

 Instagram has set up a dedicated support page that explains what is labeled state-controlled media. According to the company, “Instagram defines “state-controlled media” as media outlets that Instagram believes may be partially or wholly under the editorial control of their government, based on our own research and assessment against a set of criteria developed for this purpose.”

The new policy comes weeks before the start of the 2020 US presidential election on November 3rd. Both Facebook and Instagram were under heavy fire in the lead up to the election, being criticized for not doing enough to battle misinformation. Instagram plans to extend the labeling to ads “in the coming months”.