News

Instagram Attempts To Dispel Shadowbanning Conspiracies

The Meta-owned company wants creators to better understand how the platform’s algorithms work.

Published

3 years ago

June 2, 2023

instagram attempts to dispel shadowbanning conspiracies

A new blog post by Adam Mosseri — Instagram’s top exec — has offered some of the most detailed explanations about how the platform’s algorithm ranks various recommended content in a bid to dispel conspiracy theories concerning shadowbanning.

“Instagram doesn’t have a singular algorithm that oversees what people do and don’t see on the app,” explained Mosseri in his post. Instead, the executive explained that there are several algorithms and ranking systems working behind the scenes of the Explore, Reels, Stories, and Search sections of the app, with each using different signals for cues as to whether a creator or piece of content should be offered for a viewer’s perusal.

Regarding the order of posts in a user’s main feed, the algorithm uses past viewing activity to determine what to show next, as well as “closeness” and “how likely you are to be connected as friends or family”. On the other hand, Explore recommendations are primarily driven by “posts you’ve liked, saved, shared, and commented on in the past” but are more likely to come from creators or accounts the user has never interacted with.

One of the most interesting parts of Mosseri’s blog post is about “addressing shadowbanning”. Mosseri admits there isn’t a universal definition for the term but acknowledges that some creators “use the term to imply that a user’s account or content is limited or hidden without a clear explanation or justification”. Mosseri says that Instagram is working hard to increase transparency around when content or accounts are hidden from the platform’s recommendations.

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Mosseri notes that the “account status” feature will alert users if their content or entire account is considered “ineligible” for recommendations and that an appeals process is also available. While this isn’t the first time Instagram has addressed shadowbanning, there has been a noticeable shift in how the company talks about the topic.

The new details from Adam Mosseri’s blog underscore just how vital algorithm recommendations are to Instagram’s operation. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has even said that his goal is to transform both Instagram and Facebook into “discovery engines” focused on recommendations rather than posts from friends.

News

Lebanon Ministers Meet Visa Over National Digital Payment Platform

Finance and technology ministers say a comparative study and roadmap will follow before any decision on adopting a model.

Published

3 days ago

May 5, 2026

Joanna Melki

lebanon ministers meet visa over national digital payment platform

Lebanon’s finance and technology ministers met representatives from Visa last week to discuss a proposed unified national digital payment platform for government services, according to a readout from the Ministry of Finance.

The meeting brought together Finance Minister Yassin Jaber, Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Shehadeh, a Visa delegation, and experts from both ministries. Discussion focused on whether Lebanon could establish a single platform through which citizens and institutions would pay taxes, fees, fines and other official transactions electronically, using mobile phones and other digital channels.

The Visa delegation presented examples from countries that have adopted unified government payment platforms, including the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Estonia and Jordan. According to the readout, the examples were presented as having increased collection rates and expanded financial inclusion.

Talks covered settlement mechanisms, direct transfer to the treasury account, financial reconciliation, risk management, cybersecurity, fees, and an operational model that would involve the private sector. The parties agreed to continue technical and institutional consultations, prepare a comparative study, and develop an implementation roadmap before any decision on adopting a model for Lebanon.

Jaber said the Ministry of Finance had already enabled citizens to pay using credit cards and e-wallets through transfer companies, but described the proposed platform as a further step. He framed the development of electronic payment and collection systems as a priority within the ministry’s modernization plan.

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Shehadeh outlined the citizen-facing concept as a single mobile application through which users could settle obligations to ministries, government institutions and other bodies.

“The idea, in short, is that any citizen downloads an application on their mobile phone, through which they can pay all service obligations for all ministries, government institutions, or those owned by the Lebanese state, and others as well, as the platform is not limited only to state institutions,” he said.

Shehadeh added that the platform would not displace banks and money transfer companies that currently provide collection services to the state, calling it complementary to their work.