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If you don’t like seeing political ads in your Facebook Timeline and/or Instagram feed, you’ll be delighted to learn that you now have an option to block those ads. Maybe you’re tired of political ads, maybe you don’t need political ads to decide which is your favorite candidate, or maybe you’ve seen enough political ads to have chosen your candidate.
Now you can tell Facebook and Instagram you don’t want to see political ads anymore.
Facebook, which owns Instagram and has been criticized for allowing false and misleading political ads, has responded by allowing users of Facebook and Instagram to block political ads from their feeds. You can’t turn off all ads from Facebook and Instagram, but you can let them know that you don’t want to see political ads on your Timeline and feed.
What Types of Political Ads You Can Block on Facebook and Instagram
If you choose to block political ads from your Facebook and Instagram accounts, you won’t be seeing these types of ads:
- advertising about social issues
- electoral advertising
- political ads from candidates
- ads from super PACs
- any type of ad with a “paid for by” disclaimer
How to Block Political Ads
You can block political ads from your Facebook Timeline and Instagram feed, but the setting is turned off by default. To block political ads, you must change your settings, either in your Facebook and Instagram apps, or from a political ad you see in your Facebook Timeline or Instagram feed.
How to Block Political Ads on Facebook
To block political ads on Facebook, open the Facebook app, then tap the three stacked lines in the bottom menu bar. Scroll down to Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings => Ad Preferences => Ad Topics => Social Issues, Elections, or Politics. Tap See fewer ads about this topic.
You can also block political ads when you see them in your Facebook Timeline. Tap the Confirmed Organization button. Then tap See fewer ads about this topic.
This video from Facebook shows how to block political ads from appearing in your Facebook Timeline:
How to Block Political Ads on Instagram
You can also block political ads from appearing in your Instagram feed. In the Instagram app, tap the profile icon in the bottom menu bar, then tap the three stacked lines in the upper right corner of the screen. Then go to Settings => Ads => Ad Topic Preferences. Tap Social Issues, Elections or Politics => Save.
You can also block political ads when you see one in your Instagram feed. Tap the Paid for by button, then tap See Fewer Ads Like This.
This video from Facebook shows how to block political ads from your Instagram feed:
What to Do If You See a Political Ad after You’ve Blocked Them
Some political ads may slip through Facebook’s blocking filter. If you see a political ad after you’ve blocked them, you can report that an ad is political.
Facebook advises: “We know our system isn’t perfect. So if you’ve selected this preference and still see an ad that you think is political, please click the upper right corner of the ad and report it to us.”
Availability
Facebook’s political ad blocking option was launched last week and is rolling out to users on Facebook and Instagram. If you don’t see the settings listed above, then you don’t have the option to block political ads yet.
The political ad blocking option will first be available in the U.S. then expand to other countries in the fall. From Facebook: “We’re rolling out this option in the US to start, and we’ll aim to make it available in countries where we have enforcement on ads about social issues, elections and politics later this fall.”
Your Thoughts
Will you be blocking political ads from your Facebook and/or Instagram feeds? Do you think that other social media companies should offer this option to their users? Do you have access to the political ad blocking option yet on Facebook or Instagram?
Share your thoughts in the Comment section below!
Hi Carolyn
I sounds good that we can get rid if that. I don’t really need political ads in my feed. There is plenty of politic in the news these days.
Hi Thomas, Yes, it’s great Facebook is giving this option to block political ads. While we can’t block all ads, we can now have greater control over which ads we see.
Hi Ms Carolyn
Thank you for writing about this topic. I think politicization of any public domain is not good. Its better to let people make decisions based on their understanding. Social media promotions could be biased in this respect. By the way thanks for introducing about this feature very helpful.
Hi Priya, Yes, it would be very interesting to learn what percentage of Facebook and Instagram users turn off political ads. If the vast majority of users opt out of political ads, then perhaps political advertising spending would be better spent elsewhere.
Thanks for the reply Ms Carolyn.
I totally agree that we need to spread this awareness to the public. In todays time every person needs to be technologically literate and this could only happen when we start reading and exploring these great blogs.
You’re most welcome, Priya. Thank you for contributing to the conversation.
Thanks for the help. I really wanted to get rid of the ads. I think we should have control over what we want to see and what we don’t. Politics annoys me.
Hi Siddharth, I hope you get the option soon to block political ads. It’s good that Facebook is offering the option to block political ads so people can choose whether or not they want to see them in their Facebook Timeline and Instagram feed.