5 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Meta AI will soon train on EU users’ dataMeta AI will soon train on EU users’ data
Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
FTC previews evidence that Meta allegedly sought to extinguish Instagram and WhatsApp as threats.

Prior to buying those nascent apps in 2012 and 2014, Facebook recognized both as significant competition, Federal Trade Commission attorney Daniel Matheson argues to open the government’s case.

The FTC will present evidence, such as emails from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the apps’ founders, and investors, allegedly showing that Instagram and WhatsApp would have grown without Facebook’s help, and that the company’s motive was to take potential rivals out of the market.

The moms are thrifting on InstagramThe moms are thrifting on Instagram
Rachel Lobdell
Instagram might finally release an iPad appInstagram might finally release an iPad app
Teen restrictions expand on Instagram, Facebook, and MessengerTeen restrictions expand on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Instagram’s new fast-forward feature works just like TikTok’s.

You can now skip ahead in Reels by holding down on either edge of the screen, which plays the video at double speed. Reels started out with a 15-second cap but can now run for up to three minutes, so playback controls make sense.

TikTok thought the same thing when it added a fast-forward feature, which you enable by... holding down on either edge of the screen. What a coincidence!

Image showing how to use the fast-forward feature on Instagram Reels.
Image: Instagram
Mia Sato
Mia Sato
No more ‘notes’ on Instagram posts.

The company is getting rid of a feature it introduced less than a year ago that gave users the ability to leave semiprivate and disappearing comments on grid posts and Reels. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the feature wasn’t widely adopted, and that the platform has become “too complicated” over the years.

Instagram is giving schools a faster way to get students’ posts taken downInstagram is giving schools a faster way to get students’ posts taken down
Chris Welch
Chris Welch
Adam Mosseri knows Instagram could really use picture-in-picture.

During his weekly AMA, Instagram head Adam Mosseri acknowledged that “we really should build” a small-but-important feature that competitors like TikTok and YouTube offer: picture-in-picture (PIP). Maybe you’ll be able to multitask and watch reels soon.

Also, Instagram is working to improve its search feature this year — including the ability to search for content, not just other accounts.

A screenshot of Adam Mosseri speaking to the camera.
No one thought of this yet?
Screenshot: Chris Welch / The Verge
The hunt for the next Twitter: all the news about alternative social media platformsThe hunt for the next Twitter: all the news about alternative social media platforms
Facebook, Instagram, and Threads start testing Community Notes next weekFacebook, Instagram, and Threads start testing Community Notes next week
Instagram’s Threads: all the updates on the new Twitter competitorInstagram’s Threads: all the updates on the new Twitter competitor
The fallout of Meta’s content moderation overhaulThe fallout of Meta’s content moderation overhaul
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Instagram’s video feeds got Reel graphic.

Some Instagram users experienced an error within the last few days that flooded their personal Reels feeds with violent and NSFW imagery, some (but not all) of which was hidden behind content warnings.

Meta says it has since fixed the error and apologized for the mistake that exposed Reels users to content “that should not have been recommended” — which, according to 404Media, included footage of animal abuse, gun violence, dead bodies, and outright gore.

Instagram 'Error' Turned Reels Into Neverending Scroll of Murder, Gore, and Violence

[404media.co]

Instagram’s Reels may get its own appInstagram’s Reels may get its own app
Jess Weatherbed
Instagram will now let you schedule and pin DMsInstagram will now let you schedule and pin DMs
Instagram starts testing new button that might downrank commentsInstagram starts testing new button that might downrank comments
Mark Zuckerberg says Meta isn’t worried about DeepSeekMark Zuckerberg says Meta isn’t worried about DeepSeek
Wes Davis
Wes Davis
Twitch adds built-in exporting to Instagram.

The livestreaming platform announced that this week, every channel will get the ability to edit and share clips straight to Instagram.

How useful that is for Twitch’s gaming-focused creators is up for debate, but with TikTok’s future in question, adding Instagram to the mix seems sensible.

Trying out TikTok’s top competitorsTrying out TikTok’s top competitors
Barbara Krasnoff
Meta AI will use its ‘memory’ to provide better recommendationsMeta AI will use its ‘memory’ to provide better recommendations
Meta’s censoring of abortion information is nothing newMeta’s censoring of abortion information is nothing new
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Here’s how you might write Community Notes on Instagram.

From Alessandro Paluzzi, who recently posted screenshots of how writing Community Notes might look like on Threads, too.

A screenshot of Alessandro Paluzzi’s Threads post showing a Community Notes menu in Instagram.
This is a screenshot of a Threads post by Paluzzi.
Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge
Instagram is reportedly trying to attract TikTok creators with large bonusesInstagram is reportedly trying to attract TikTok creators with large bonuses
X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube sign EU pledge to tackle hate speechX, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube sign EU pledge to tackle hate speech
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Features coming to Instagram’s new tall profile grid.

Instagram’s chief says the changes reflect the domination of vertical content on the platform, and that highlighted stories should be coming to the grid in the future.

Instagram is also building tools that will allow users to re-order their grids and post to it directly without pushing posts to feeds — but Mosseri says this “may very well change as we iterate over the next couple months.”

A screenshot of an Instagram post where Adam Mosseri explains why the platform introduced its new tall grids feature.
Landscape videos and photos are out, long live vertical-orientation content.
Image: Instagram / Adam Mosseri
Instagram announces a blatant CapCut cloneInstagram announces a blatant CapCut clone
Instagram Reels can be 3 minutes long nowInstagram Reels can be 3 minutes long now
Instagram profile grids are going to feature rectangles instead of squaresInstagram profile grids are going to feature rectangles instead of squares
Instagram will show your friends what Reels you’ve likedInstagram will show your friends what Reels you’ve liked
Social media platforms are not built for thisSocial media platforms are not built for this
Mia Sato
Mia Sato
Meta removed two pro-trans design features.

404 Media reports that trans and non-binary pride chat themes were “retired” this week and announcements scrubbed from the web — just as Meta is allowing more hate speech.

“Messenger is committed to building the safest private messaging experience that gives the growing LBGTQ+ community and its allies a trusted space to open up with confidence,” one announcement read. To borrow Mark Zuckerberg’s own words: sounds like virtue signaling.

Meta Deletes Trans and Nonbinary Messenger Themes

[404 Media]

Mia Sato
Mia Sato
Meta gets specific about what type of hate speech it’s OK with.

Leaked training documents obtained by The Intercept offer more details about Meta’s updated Hateful Conduct rules. Specific examples of speech Meta allows include “Immigrants are grubby, filthy pieces of shit,” “Jews are flat out greedier than Christians,” and “Trans people are immoral.”

Leaked Meta Rules: Users Are Free to Post “Mexican Immigrants Are Trash!” or “Trans People Are Immoral”

[The Intercept]

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
“It’s total chaos internally at Meta right now.”

404 Media has updates from unnamed employees on how the moderation changes have been received:

“The entire thread of comments shared is dissent toward the new policy, save for one leader repeating Zuckerberg talking points. I’d call the mood shock and disbelief,” they added. “It’s embarrassment and shame that feels self-inflicted, different than mistakes the company has made in the past.”

Oh, and as for Joel Kaplan’s More Speech and Fewer Mistakes, Meta is already answering an “error” that blanked out search results for “LGBT” and “Trans.”

‘It’s Total Chaos Internally at Meta Right Now’: Employees Protest Zuckerberg’s Anti LGBTQ Changes

[404 Media]

How to delete your Facebook accountHow to delete your Facebook account
Barbara Krasnoff and Micah Singleton
Social networking alternatives for the Meta- and Musk-averseSocial networking alternatives for the Meta- and Musk-averse
Threads and Instagram are for politics now, says Adam MosseriThreads and Instagram are for politics now, says Adam Mosseri
Here are some of the horrible things that you can now say on Instagram and FacebookHere are some of the horrible things that you can now say on Instagram and Facebook
Zuckerberg says he’s moving Meta moderators to Texas because California seems too ‘biased’Zuckerberg says he’s moving Meta moderators to Texas because California seems too ‘biased’
Meta’s fact-checking changes are just what Trump’s FCC head asked forMeta’s fact-checking changes are just what Trump’s FCC head asked for

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