Instagram Says It Does Not Reduce the Reach of Sponsored Content

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has debunked another common Instagram myth as part of his new series of informational posts in the app.

In this latest post, Mosseri dismisses the rumor that Instagram deliberately downranks posts tagged as sponsored content, in order to force brands to pay for reach.

As per Mosseri:

“We don’t downrank posts that you mark as sponsored. It helps us understand Instagram to know what is sponsored, but it’s important for creators to mark things as sponsored without fear of downranking so that they can comply with local laws all around the world.”

The common theory is that IG benefits from downranking these posts, as it’s another way to ensure that brands and their partners have to pay for additional reach.

Though as some have pointed out, it could also be that IG users just engage with sponsored content less, and as soon as they see that “Sponsored” tag on a post, some just scroll on by, reducing engagement, and thus reach.

So the reach “penalty” in this case is likely a side effect of the tag itself, and not an Instagram-initiated thing. And as Mosseri explains here, there has been no effort from the platform’s end to reduce the reach of these posts, algorithmically or otherwise, as a result of these tags.

As noted, this is the latest in a new series of video posts from Mosseri where he seeks to provide more context around certain elements of the app that users often have questions about.

Last month, Mosseri also explained that including your brand log on a Reel won’t see it penalized, but Reels with TikTok and YouTube watermarks will cop a reach penalty.

Getting the info direct from Instagram to debunk some of these myths is valuable, though many will still dismiss Mosseri’s descriptions, and assume the worst either way. And you can’t really blame them, as Meta’s reputation for screwing over business users in the past is pretty well well-established, and those who’ve been burned are unlikely to ever give it the benefit of the doubt.

But for everyone else, you have this, direct from the IG chief, noting that it does not penalize posts with “Sponsored” tags.