In The Community
On February 9th, 2024, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri quietly announced through a thread post that Instagram and Threads would be moving away from actively recommending political content. Mosseri shared that the platforms would be transitioning towards a new system where political content would become opt-in by default. Meta defined political content as “content [that] is likely to mention governments, elections, or social topics that affect a group of people and/or society at large.”
With such a broad definition, users who want to continue seeing anything deemed “political” in their feeds would have to adjust their settings accordingly.
Users can still follow profiles they prefer, but Meta's algorithms will limit the exposure of political content from profiles the user doesn’t follow unless users manually enable the “Don’t limit” option in their preferences. Despite Mosseri specifying "accounts" in the announcement, the limitation will only apply to political content that would appear in suggested content areas like the explore tab, reels, and suggested users. Overall, users weren’t happy.
Comment by @rafacst on Threads
This is a reflection of Meta’s overall goal of prioritizing entertaining content over news. This shift has been quietly in the works for a while, with Mark Zuckerberg making his intentions clear in an interview with The Verge back in 2023. While this change to Instagram and Threads allegedly seeks to make interactions less divisive, it severely affects every personal or media account that shares political content and news, effectively limiting their reach.
For creators who share this type of content to raise awareness, advocate for social issues, inform and educate, and drive social action, this creates a big hurdle in reaching a wider audience outside their follower base.
Despite the announcement that the changes would be rolled out over time, the public hasn’t exactly been kept in the loop. As it turns out, the opt-in feature has already been launched and the default setting is set to “limit” political content. In other words, all Instagram accounts have been converted to the new setting, and users are using their accounts without many knowing their content is now limited.
To find the feature and disable it, users have to:
- Go to their profile using the iOS or Android app.
- Tap more options in the top right, which is the icon with the three horizontal lines.
- Scroll down and tap “Suggested content.”
- Tap “Political content” and then check the “Don’t limit” box so they “might see more political or social topics” in their suggested content
The feature isn’t easy to find. Even after following the above directions, several Luz staff members had to use the search function, using “suggested content,” to finally find the setting.
While on the subject of content settings, it’s also important to be aware of Instagram’s Fact-Checked Control. The platform claims a commitment to reducing the spread of false information by using third-party fact-checkers or their own technology to identify and mark false information. When false information is found, the algorithm makes it harder for people to see.
Users have control over how fact-checked content appears in their feed from the creators they follow. Fact-Checked Control is set to “Reduce” by default, which means content considered false or altered will be shown less. This limits content reach even further. To change this setting and have greater access to content, users have to go into their settings, tap “Content preferences,” and then select the level of fact-checking they want. By selecting “Don’t reduce,” no content will be moved lower in the feed, allowing users to see all content.
Reportedly, the “Content preferences” option is not available to everyone, not even if searched within Instagram’s settings. Some users say they’re able to find the setting for political content limitation, but not the setting for fact-checking, while others do have access to both. Users are encouraged to explore their settings thoroughly and decide what kind of content they want on their feed, rather than have Meta decide for them.
The number of Latina women in American politics is growing with the addition of Claudia De la Cruz and Karina Garcia. The duo is running for President and Vice President of the United States as candidates for the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). De la Cruz and Garcia are running on an audacious anti-capitalism platform for the 2024 Presidential Elections. Their candidacies are a bold departure from the mainstream, as their stated goal is to dismantle capitalism and usher in a fairer, more equitable society based on socialist principles.
In a recent interview with “Refinery 29,” De la Cruz and Garcia discuss their political career and what life experiences eventually led them to embrace their current political and economic views. Both De la Cruz and Garcia come from working-class backgrounds and have been shaped by their experiences growing up in marginalized communities. De la Cruz, raised in the South Bronx by Dominican immigrants, was exposed to liberation theology and socialist ideas at a young age, while Garcia, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, became aware of the injustices of capitalism through her activism against sweatshop labor.
In working with the United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), Garcia understood that the problem was a systemic one. She noticed that no matter how many brands invested in being ethical and sustainable, there would always be others doing the opposite for the sake of the bottom line. “The logic of capitalism doesn't allow for ‘good capitalist companies’ because there is the endless, unlimited drive for creating profit. That’s what got me into anti-capitalist politics,” she told “Refinery 29.”
De la Cruz and Garcia’s decision to run for office is motivated by a deep dissatisfaction with the political landscape as it is now. They highlight the failure of both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party to address issues like poverty, immigration, foreign policy, student debt, and the climate crisis.
Rather than aligning themselves with established parties, De la Cruz and Garcia advocate for a radical alternative that will serve their communities. Together, they seek to build their own party to ignite a movement independent of capitalist systems, with the ultimate goal of dismantling capitalism entirely.
Their platform includes seizing control of the 100 largest corporations in the U.S. and turning them into public property, as well as prioritizing international solidarity and collaboration in foreign policy. The concept of government nationalizing private industry isn’t a new one, and foreign countries with established democracies, like Canada and Germany, have nationalized private corporations as recently as 2022.
They argue that the capitalist system prioritizes the interests of the wealthy elite at the expense of the working class, both domestically and globally, and they view their campaign as a crucial step towards building a broader socialist movement in the country.
They acknowledge their almost non-existent chances of victory given the way socialism is perceived in the U.S., and the structural barriers that favor a two-party system. At this point, it’s unclear how many state ballots they would even appear on as presidential candidates.
However, they believe that voting for the lesser of two evils perpetuates a flawed political system, and they advocate for concrete solutions that address the root causes of societal problems. “Anti-socialist sentiment has become like a second religion in the U.S., [and this happened] precisely because socialism speaks to working-class people because it places working-class people's needs at the forefront and [because] we see the capitalist system that we live up under, that has been imposed on us as a dictatorship of billionaires who plays a political class, to advance ruling class interest rather than ours,” asserted De la Cruz in the “Refinery 29” interview.
They believe that by challenging capitalist ideology's dominance in American politics and providing an alternative that resonates with millions who want to dismantle systems of oppression, De la Cruz and Garcia are paving the way for a more transformative vision of society—one that prioritizes the needs of the many over the interests of the few.
De la Cruz expressed this sentiment clearly in the “Refinery 29” interview, saying, “We don't want to deal with the symptoms of capitalism. We need to deal with the actual illness, and the biggest illness that we are dealing with globally is a capitalist system. We need to be able to create another structure. Voting for the lesser of two evils is not a strategy we should continue to entertain.”
De la Cruz and Garcia acknowledge that they’re not the first socialists to run for President and Vice President in a fervently capitalist country, but they’re committed to seeing their ideals put into practice and showing Americans a different perspective by presenting the possibility of a third party, and the options that it can bring to the table for all.
In June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States decided to overturn Roe v. Wade. The news was met with alarm not only from women all over the country but also from healthcare providers. These professionals expressed grave concerns about the negative effects the decision would have on women’s health, including mental health.
Today, those concerns are a reality, and the statistics are alarming, especially when it comes to Latinas, who are suffering the disproportionate impact of abortion restrictions. Particularly in states like Texas, where abortion has been banned after 6 weeks of pregnancy since 2021.
The Disproportionate Impact of Abortion Restrictions on Latinas
The increase in teen pregnancies and the increase in rape-related pregnancies demonstrates how far the disproportion runs and the nightmare Latinas are experiencing in Texas.
According to a study from the University of Houston, women in Texas delivered 16,147 more babies in 2022 than in 2021. For the first time in 15 years, Texas’ fertility rate increased just one year after the 6-week abortion ban was introduced.
The study also showed that, compared to other racial or ethnic groups, the biggest increase in birth happened among Latinas of all ages. Out of the 16,147 pregnancies that came to term, 84% of those babies were delivered by Latinas.
The Increase in Teen Pregnancy Among Latinas
The same University of Houston study shed light on how much teen pregnancy has increased following the abortion ban in Texas. While teen birth rates remained steady in the country, Texas’ teen birth rate increased by 1.2% among Latinas, 0.5% among Blacks, and 8.2% among Asians. Asian teens show a larger ratio because they’re a small part of the population in the state.
While other racial and ethnic groups of women have been affected by the state’s abortion ban, Latinas are affected most of all. The fact is that, because abortion is banned in Texas, pregnant teens who would want to terminate the pregnancy are forced to go out of state to seek the medical attention they need.
The problem with that is that Latinas face a litany of obstacles including the inability to afford travel costs or take time off work. Additionally, Latinas face disparities in health insurance coverage, which makes healthcare a lot more challenging to access, if not impossible in most cases. This has prompted organizations like Jane’s Due Process to support pregnant teens. Sadly, it’s not enough.
According to the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, the Texas abortion ban has completely disconnected Latinas from reproductive healthcare. Unfortunately, this disconnection is not new. Latinos are the largest population group in Texas, and yet they’re the least likely to be insured. This is due to the lack of affordable coverage options, the lack of Medicaid expansion, and the many barriers Latinos face when it comes to fulfilling insurance requirements. So health inequalities for Latinos in Texas have been a long-standing issue.
Increase in Rape-Related Pregnancies in Texas
The disproportionate impact of abortion restrictions on Latinas doesn’t end with teen pregnancy. A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine shows that there have been over 26,000 rape-related pregnancies in Texas since the near-total abortion ban was introduced. Texas now accounts for 43% of rape-related pregnancies reported in the entire country because it doesn’t allow abortions in cases of rape or incest.
This directly contradicts Governor Greg Abbott’s pledge to eliminate rape and his claim to support rape victims with immediate access to health care. Emergency contraception like the Plan B pill may be available over the counter, but it’s not accessible for low-income Texans, including Latinas. It’s also not 100% effective, and it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. In other words, emergency contraception doesn’t substitute abortion in the way many seem to believe.
The same study also showed that, since Row v. Wade was overturned in 2022, 519,980 girls and women of reproductive age have been raped. 1 in 10 of them have become pregnant. However, there are less than 10 abortions per month in states with abortion restrictions and bans.
That means that the vast majority of rape victims have no access to abortion services or emergency contraception, not even in states that claim to have rape exceptions. To say that this causes more trauma for rape survivors is an understatement. They’re stripped of their agency once more, this time by the system, which prevents them from making informed decisions about their rape-related pregnancies.
The Impact of Abortion Bans on Mental Health
There are 50 years' worth of international psychological research that indicates that having an abortion is not associated with mental health problems. On the contrary, restricted access to safe abortions leads to physical and mental health issues. The Turnaway Study offers proof of that. It was published in 2017 and they followed the outcomes of 1000 women from 30 abortion clinics around the country for 5 years.
The study showed that, when abortions were denied, women reported more anxiety symptoms, stress, lower self-esteem, and lower life satisfaction compared to those who received an abortion. Women proceeding with unwanted pregnancies faced physical health problems, economic hardships, and were more likely to stay linked to a violent partner or raise children alone.
This is the reality of every single Latina who was denied their right to abortion in the state of Texas, many of them being teenagers. When looking at numbers on paper, it may be difficult to fully grasp the magnitude of the issue. But every number is a story and a life forever changed by the inability to access legal and safe abortion.
This is what fuels the fire of reproductive rights activists, and it’s also why supporting movements like Women’s March and initiatives like the Arizona Abortion Access Act is not only important but vital for the Latino community. Other funds to support include Jane's Due Process, which helps young people gain access to abortion and reproductive health support, and Fund Texas Choice, which provides travel assistance to women who have to flee the state of Texas to obtain reproductive health access.
- National Women's March: Rallying Against Deadly Abortion Restrictions ›
- La Marea Verde: Latin-American Women's Abortion Rights Movement Gains Momentum in the U.S. ›