Tip 4 - Take control to reduce low-quality info in your social media feed
You must adjust your settings on Facebook and Instagram from the default to minimize low-quality content
How you can minimize misinformation on Facebook and Instagram in six simple steps!
Instagram (Android App):
Navigate to your profile page
(from the Home Screen)
2. Navigate to the settings menu
(three horizontal bars)
3. Under “Settings and Privacy” navigate to “Content preferences”
4. Under “Content preferences” navigate to “Content reduced by fact-checking”
5. Change the settings from “Reduce (default)” to “Reduce more”
Historically, Facebook’s algorithm automatically moved posts lower in the feed if they were flagged as false or misleading by one of the platform’s third-party fact-checking partners
The “content reduced by fact-checking" dial, which allowed users to adjust the level of debunked posts they see in their feed, was introduced in 2023. Facebook announced that this gave people “more power to control the algorithm that ranks posts in their feed”.
However, this puts the onus to increase information quality on users, taking responsibility away from the platform. As noted by David Rand, a Professor at MIT, “allowing people to simply opt out seems to really knee-cap the program”
Instagram (IoS App):
Navigate to your profile page (from the home screen)
2. Navigate to the settings menu (three horizontal bars)
3. Under “Settings and Privacy” navigate to “Content preferences”
4. Under “Content preferences” navigate to “Content reduced by fact-checking”
5. Change the settings from “Reduce (default)” to “Reduce more”
Historically, Facebook’s algorithm automatically moved posts lower in the feed if they were flagged as false or misleading by one of the platform’s third-party fact-checking partners
The “content reduced by fact-checking" dial, which allowed users to adjust the level of debunked posts they see in their feed, was introduced in 2023. Facebook announced that this gave people “more power to control the algorithm that ranks posts in their feed”.
However, this puts the onus to increase information quality on users, taking responsibility away from the platform. As noted by David Rand, a Professor at MIT, “allowing people to simply opt out seems to really knee-cap the program”
Facebook (Android App)
Navigate to the settings menu (three horizontal bars)
2. Navigate to the settings and privacy menu
(gear icon)
3. Navigate to the News Feed under “preferences”
4. Navigate to “Reduce”
5. Navigate to “Content reduced by fact-checking”
6. Change the setting from “Reduce (default)” to “Reduce more”
Historically, Facebook’s algorithm automatically moved posts lower in the feed if they were flagged as false or misleading by one of the platform’s third-party fact-checking partners
The “content reduced by fact-checking" dial, which allowed users to adjust the level of debunked posts they see in their feed, was introduced in 2023. Facebook announced that this gave people “more power to control the algorithm that ranks posts in their feed”.
However, this puts the onus to increase information quality on users, taking responsibility away from the platform. As noted by David Rand, a Professor at MIT, “allowing people to simply opt out seems to really knee-cap the program”
Facebook (iOS App)
Navigate to your profile page (from the Home Screen)
2. Navigate to “Settings & privacy”
3. Navigate to “Settings”
4. Navigate to the News Feed under “settings”
5. Navigate to “Reduce”
6. Navigate to “Content reduced by fact-checking”
Historically, Facebook’s algorithm automatically moved posts lower in the feed if they were flagged as false or misleading by one of the platform’s third-party fact-checking partners
The “content reduced by fact-checking" dial, which allowed users to adjust the level of debunked posts they see in their feed, was introduced in 2023. Facebook announced that this gave people “more power to control the algorithm that ranks posts in their feed”.
However, this puts the onus to increase information quality on users, taking responsibility away from the platform. As noted by David Rand, a Professor at MIT, “allowing people to simply opt out seems to really knee-cap the program”
7. Change the setting from “Reduce (default)” to “Reduce more”
Facebook (Browser)
Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner (on the home screen)
2. Click on “Settings & Privacy”
3. In “Settings & privacy”, click on “Feed”
4. Click on “Reduce”
5. Click on “Content reduced by fact-checking”
6. Change the setting from “Reduce (default)” to “Reduce more”
Historically, Facebook’s algorithm automatically moved posts lower in the feed if they were flagged as false or misleading by one of the platform’s third-party fact-checking partners
The “content reduced by fact-checking" dial, which allowed users to adjust the level of debunked posts they see in their feed, was introduced in 2023. Facebook announced that this gave people “more power to control the algorithm that ranks posts in their feed”.
However, this puts the onus to increase information quality on users, taking responsibility away from the platform. As noted by David Rand, a Professor at MIT, “allowing people to simply opt out seems to really knee-cap the program”