Hasta La Gadget!

Instagram blocked searches related to a number of political hashtags, including #democrats, #democrat, #jan6th, #republicans and a number of other terms Tuesday. Users who searched for these hashtags were instead greeted with a notice that “we’ve hidden these results” because they “may contain sensitive content.”

It’s not clear exactly how many search terms were affected but users on Reddit reported that dozens of tags were unsearchable. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone blamed an unspecified “issue” in a post on Threads and said the company was working on a fix.

The timing, just days after Mark Zuckerberg took a front-row seat at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, understandably prompted speculation that the “issue” was politically motivated. Zuckerberg recently moved to end Meta’s fact-checking programs, roll back content moderation standards that prohibited dehumanizing language and slurs targeting immigrants and LGBTQ people. The company also internally shuttered its corporate diversity programs. Stone, however, said the issue affected “a number of different hashtags on Instagram – not just those on the left.”

Indeed, there seemed to be some inconsistency in what was blocked. #Democrat, #democrats and #republicans were reportedly affected, but #republican was viewable. Users reported that #constitution, #johnoliver and #queer were also unviewable. Meta now seems to have addressed most of the hashtags in question, though the company hasn’t explained what caused the “issue.”

This, notably, isn’t the first time Instagram has inexplicably blocked searches for hashtags. Meta blocked hashtags related to LGBTQ content and labeled it as “sensitive content” for months. The company said earlier this year that was an error, noting that “we do not consider LGBTQ+ terms to be sensitive under our policies.” In 2020, Instagram briefly prevented users from sharing posts with the hashtag #blacklivesmatter. The company said it was a mistake and blamed its spam detection features.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-blocked-searches-for-democrats-and-other-political-hashtags-195612128.html?src=rss

The TikTok ban may have lasted only a few hours (at least for now), but Meta is still trying to capitalize on its rival’s tenuous future. Meta has rolled out a new “breakthrough bonus program” that offers up to $5,000 to creators who are new to the company’s apps.

According to Meta, the bonus program is open to US adults who “have an existing presence on a third party social app that you can link or already have linked during the application process.” Participants will also be required to create a professional account on Instagram and a page on Facebook.

If accepted, creators will then be able to earn up to $5,000 over a 90-day period in exchange for sharing “at least 20 reels on Facebook and 10 reels on Instagram posted natively within each app within each 30-day bonus period” and sharing “on at least 10 separate days within each 30-day bonus period.” (Meta notes that creators individual payments will be calculated based on “an evaluation of your social presence.”) Creators will also be able to participate in its “Facebook Content Monetization” program that allows creators to earn money for text and photos posts in addition to video content.  

Though Meta doesn’t name TikTok specifically, the timing of the rollout seems pretty clearly meant to target TikTok creators who aren’t active on Facebook and Instagram. It’s also notable that the terms of the bonus program require creators to post twice as many Reels on Facebook as Instagram, suggesting Meta is looking to boost original content on Facebook specifically.

The breakthrough bonuses are just one of the ways Meta is attempting to lure TikTok creators to its platforms. The company is also offering some creators, including those in the “breakthrough” program, a free one-year trial subscription to Meta Verified, which provides a blue check and extra perks like impersonation protection. The company also recently extended the length of Reels on Instagram, from 90 seconds to up to three minutes, and redesigned the Instagram grid.

Meta is also reportedly striking bigger deals with specific, higher-profile creators. The Information recently reported that Meta has been offering some TikTok stars bonuses of up to $50,000 a month in exchange for posting their content on Reels first. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of those arrangements, but said the company “recently expanded our investment” in content deals “to support more creators.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-trying-to-lure-tiktok-creators-with-a-new-bonus-program-220632949.html?src=rss

The TikTok ban may have lasted only a few hours (at least for now), but Meta is still trying to capitalize on its rival’s tenuous future. Meta has rolled out a new “breakthrough bonus program” that offers up to $5,000 to creators who are new to the company’s apps.

According to Meta, the bonus program is open to US adults who “have an existing presence on a third party social app that you can link or already have linked during the application process.” Participants will also be required to create a professional account on Instagram and a page on Facebook.

If accepted, creators will then be able to earn up to $5,000 over a 90-day period in exchange for sharing “at least 20 reels on Facebook and 10 reels on Instagram posted natively within each app within each 30-day bonus period” and sharing “on at least 10 separate days within each 30-day bonus period.” (Meta notes that creators individual payments will be calculated based on “an evaluation of your social presence.”) Creators will also be able to participate in its “Facebook Content Monetization” program that allows creators to earn money for text and photos posts in addition to video content.  

Though Meta doesn’t name TikTok specifically, the timing of the rollout seems pretty clearly meant to target TikTok creators who aren’t active on Facebook and Instagram. It’s also notable that the terms of the bonus program require creators to post twice as many Reels on Facebook as Instagram, suggesting Meta is looking to boost original content on Facebook specifically.

The breakthrough bonuses are just one of the ways Meta is attempting to lure TikTok creators to its platforms. The company is also offering some creators, including those in the “breakthrough” program, a free one-year trial subscription to Meta Verified, which provides a blue check and extra perks like impersonation protection. The company also recently extended the length of Reels on Instagram, from 90 seconds to up to three minutes, and redesigned the Instagram grid.

Meta is also reportedly striking bigger deals with specific, higher-profile creators. The Information recently reported that Meta has been offering some TikTok stars bonuses of up to $50,000 a month in exchange for posting their content on Reels first. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of those arrangements, but said the company “recently expanded our investment” in content deals “to support more creators.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-trying-to-lure-tiktok-creators-with-a-new-bonus-program-220632949.html?src=rss

The TikTok ban may have lasted only a few hours (at least for now), but Meta is still trying to capitalize on its rival’s tenuous future. Meta has rolled out a new “breakthrough bonus program” that offers up to $5,000 to creators who are new to the company’s apps.

According to Meta, the bonus program is open to US adults who “have an existing presence on a third party social app that you can link or already have linked during the application process.” Participants will also be required to create a professional account on Instagram and a page on Facebook.

If accepted, creators will then be able to earn up to $5,000 over a 90-day period in exchange for sharing “at least 20 reels on Facebook and 10 reels on Instagram posted natively within each app within each 30-day bonus period” and sharing “on at least 10 separate days within each 30-day bonus period.” (Meta notes that creators individual payments will be calculated based on “an evaluation of your social presence.”) Creators will also be able to participate in its “Facebook Content Monetization” program that allows creators to earn money for text and photos posts in addition to video content.  

Though Meta doesn’t name TikTok specifically, the timing of the rollout seems pretty clearly meant to target TikTok creators who aren’t active on Facebook and Instagram. It’s also notable that the terms of the bonus program require creators to post twice as many Reels on Facebook as Instagram, suggesting Meta is looking to boost original content on Facebook specifically.

The breakthrough bonuses are just one of the ways Meta is attempting to lure TikTok creators to its platforms. The company is also offering some creators, including those in the “breakthrough” program, a free one-year trial subscription to Meta Verified, which provides a blue check and extra perks like impersonation protection. The company also recently extended the length of Reels on Instagram, from 90 seconds to up to three minutes, and redesigned the Instagram grid.

Meta is also reportedly striking bigger deals with specific, higher-profile creators. The Information recently reported that Meta has been offering some TikTok stars bonuses of up to $50,000 a month in exchange for posting their content on Reels first. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of those arrangements, but said the company “recently expanded our investment” in content deals “to support more creators.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-trying-to-lure-tiktok-creators-with-a-new-bonus-program-220632949.html?src=rss

The TikTok ban may have lasted only a few hours (at least for now), but Meta is still trying to capitalize on its rival’s tenuous future. Meta has rolled out a new “breakthrough bonus program” that offers up to $5,000 to creators who are new to the company’s apps.

According to Meta, the bonus program is open to US adults who “have an existing presence on a third party social app that you can link or already have linked during the application process.” Participants will also be required to create a professional account on Instagram and a page on Facebook.

If accepted, creators will then be able to earn up to $5,000 over a 90-day period in exchange for sharing “at least 20 reels on Facebook and 10 reels on Instagram posted natively within each app within each 30-day bonus period” and sharing “on at least 10 separate days within each 30-day bonus period.” (Meta notes that creators individual payments will be calculated based on “an evaluation of your social presence.”) Creators will also be able to participate in its “Facebook Content Monetization” program that allows creators to earn money for text and photos posts in addition to video content.  

Though Meta doesn’t name TikTok specifically, the timing of the rollout seems pretty clearly meant to target TikTok creators who aren’t active on Facebook and Instagram. It’s also notable that the terms of the bonus program require creators to post twice as many Reels on Facebook as Instagram, suggesting Meta is looking to boost original content on Facebook specifically.

The breakthrough bonuses are just one of the ways Meta is attempting to lure TikTok creators to its platforms. The company is also offering some creators, including those in the “breakthrough” program, a free one-year trial subscription to Meta Verified, which provides a blue check and extra perks like impersonation protection. The company also recently extended the length of Reels on Instagram, from 90 seconds to up to three minutes, and redesigned the Instagram grid.

Meta is also reportedly striking bigger deals with specific, higher-profile creators. The Information recently reported that Meta has been offering some TikTok stars bonuses of up to $50,000 a month in exchange for posting their content on Reels first. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of those arrangements, but said the company “recently expanded our investment” in content deals “to support more creators.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-trying-to-lure-tiktok-creators-with-a-new-bonus-program-220632949.html?src=rss