Instagram has actually disabled its “related hashtags” feature after a bug restricted the feature for select expressions across the platform. Related hashtags did not appear on the tens of countless hashtag pages impacted by the bug, possibly limiting available information to any user who tapped on one as it appeared in picture or video captions or sought it out by means of search.
The problem emerged after a Tech Transparency Project (TTP) report, additional checked out by BuzzFeed News, discovered that the bug impacted Trump-related hashtags but not those related to Joe Biden. Because much of the associated hashtags were negative– consisting of #creepyjoebiden, #joebidenpedophile, and #neverbiden– the disparity raised concerns Instagram might be preferring Trump.
Rather, Instagram claims it was a bug. “A technical error triggered 10s of thousands of hashtags to not show associated tags. The business also point out that #democrats was affect by the bug, even if Biden-relate hashtags were not.
Instagram has still not describe the source of the bug or why it was limit to certain hashtags rather than others. It is likewise unclear the length of time the bug has continued on the platform.