The new policy, according to Instagram, will not affect most of the social network users, as it is aimed at checking accounts that behave suspiciously. According to the available data, in addition to accounts that are seen in suspicious behavior, Instagram will check the accounts of people, most of whose followers are located in another country, regarding their location. In addition, identity verification will be carried out when signs of automation are detected, which will allow the calculation of bots.

Holders of such accounts will be asked to verify their identity by providing an appropriate email ID. If this is not done, then the Instagram administration may downgrade the posts from these accounts in the Instagram feed or block them. Instagram and parent company Facebook, which owns the social networking site of the same name, is stepping up efforts to combat disinformation ahead of this year’s U.S. presidential election. Facebook already has a similar policy that asks popular page owners to verify their identity.

Instagram has long been criticized for not doing enough to fight the spread of misinformation within the platform and suppress attempts to manipulate other people’s opinions. Obviously, the new rules will help to tighten control over the information disseminated on Instagram.