Instagram is changing its order in favor of original content

Instagram is making some new, creator-focused changes to its platform, which Instagram head Adam Mosseri said is meant to “make sure the credit goes to those who deserve it.”

The new items consist of three changes: Product tags are now available to everyone, so you can tag a product in your post; You can customize a category like “Photographer” or “Rapper” and show that category every time your name is tagged in a post; Instagram will start promoting more original content on the platform.

In a video explaining the new features, Mosseri said: “If you create something from scratch, you should have more credibility than if you’re re-sharing something you found from someone else. We will try to do more to try to evaluate the original content more, especially compared to the content Republished”. Appreciating original content is nothing new, of course, but Mosseri said Instagram will lean more in that direction.

Translation? Please, please, please just stop posting your favorite TikToks on Reels. We beg you.

Meta has made it clear that it sees Facebook and Instagram as platforms focused on future creators, rather than as tools for people to connect with their friends. So both platforms have invested in shopping tools, ways for creators to build audiences, and lots of other things that they hope will entice creators to stop being TikTokers and YouTubers and start being Instagrammers and Facebookers.

rollers, in particular, It is the focus of this effort. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, described the short videos “Fastest growing content format to dateAnd it’s now available via Facebook and Instagram. But anyone who uses Reels knows it can feel like a copy of TikTok, often with the same content I just reposted — the TikTok logo and everything — from somewhere else. One way for Instagram to discourage the practice? Bury it in order, and that’s exactly what Mosseri seems to be planning to do.

As for how Instagram determines what’s considered authentic, Mosseri only said it’s difficult, and “we’ll repeat it over time.” Change is potentially a huge problem for aggregator accounts, many of which are hugely popular sources of memes and trends but are often accused of stealing content and credit from creators. Mosseri tweeted: “As we lean more towards recommendations, it’s becoming increasingly important not to overvalue aggregators, as that will be bad for creators, and therefore bad for Instagram in the long run.”

Paying for original content on Meta social products is nothing new, nor is the fact that the most popular things on Facebook and Instagram Tends to plagiarism. Meta platforms have the largest audiences, but TikTok, Twitter, and others tend to be where new memes and trends are created. If Instagram and Facebook want to be successful content creator platforms, they will have to find a way to turn that around. And getting started with its most powerful handle — the ranking algorithm that decides what billions of people see every day — is a very serious first step. Another idea is to pay more money to the creators, but given that the Meta seems to be Cutting reels batchesThat may not come any time soon.