Digital Dose: Instagram’s 2025 Algorithm Update and Meta’s Move to Community Notes

Welcome to your dose of trending news from the digital universe, courtesy of Spectrum Science.  

In this edition of Digital Dose, we’re diving into Instagram’s focus on prioritizing original content in its algorithm in 2025 and the potential impact of Meta’s latest restrictions on ads for health and wellness.  

Concerned about TikTok’s future? Dig into the Spectrum Science team’s recommendations

Instagram head Mosseri says app will prioritize original content 

To incentivize more digital connections, Instagram head Adam Mosseri says the app will focus on an algorithm tailored to more original and creative content, progressing the platform with new profile and technology updates to advance creative tools and user capabilities. Some of these changes have received backlash from users, but Mosseri is standing with these changes in an update posted to Threads on January 20th, assuring that these developments are in their best interest.  Read More.  

Why it matters: The social media world is an ever-evolving landscape built on innovations of technological and communicative potential. Due to this reality, the algorithmic strategy that may have worked a year ago may not match the blueprint for today’s social framework. 

Examining individual platform priorities and how they determine algorithmic rankings is critical in curating engaging, relevant content for new and existing users. Companies should remain aware and revise strategies in tandem with platform updates, modifications, and technologies, to continue building a social media presence that drives results. 

Meta Is Getting Rid of Fact-Checks and Switching to Community Notes 

This month, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company is discontinuing its fact-checking program and moving to an X-style “Community Notes” system for clarifying claims made by users in its apps. In a “commitment to free expression,” Meta is also making moves and transitioning its trust and safety teams out of California to Texas and other U.S. states. Read More. 

Why it matters: Meta discontinuing its fact-checking program and implementing a style of “Community Notes” raises eyebrows for the true intentions behind this decision, considering the similar actions of X CEO, Elon Musk, and how this has impacted the landscape of a previously trusted and regularly moderated platform. While Zuckerberg claims these efforts come from a place of working to reignite free expression across Meta, it also comes in the wake of a contentious election cycle and political pressure to reduce “censorship.” 

Users across Instagram and Facebook may notice a rise in misinformation during this shift, as debunking misleading information will now have a free-range approach, leaving much of the responsibility on users to report misinformation themselves. Masked by good intentions, there are potential consequences to this change that can negatively impact the social media landscape, especially for restriction-free topics with political motivation. 

Interested in more? Don’t miss these additional digital headlines: 

• X’s Usage Data Suggests a Decline in Time Spent Throughout 2024 [Social Media Today] 

• Decentralized Instagram alternative Pixelfed launches mobile apps [TechCrunch] 

• YouTube Expands 3-Minute Shorts to All Users [Social Media Today] 

• Instagram Shares Key Areas of Focus in 2025 [Social Media Today] 

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