However, in a surprising and unprecedented decision, Instagram decided to hide the recent tag from hashtags pages due to the US election. This was only for US citizens and led to an inability to access the tab within the app on the days leading up to the election on November 3rd. Instagram tweeted: “As we near the U.S. elections, we’re making changes to make it harder for people to come across possible misinformation on Instagram … We’re doing this to reduce the real-time spread of potentially harmful content that could pop up around the election.”
Ultimately, as social media continues to play a significant role in our lives, these kinds of decisions will become more and more common. The attempts to stop the spread of misinformation may be entirely in good faith, but whether they work or not is yet to be seen.