Meta says its working urgently to fix a problem with Instagram which results in a “results hidden” message when users search for the terms “Democrat” or “Democrats”.

Some social media users have accused the company of political bias, pointing out the issue has been occurring after President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, which was attended by Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg.

Meta has insisted that is not the case, saying it is a technical problem which has also affected other hashtags, including a Republican one.

However, social media expert Matt Navarra said it was “embarrassing” for Instagram regardless.

“In a hyper-partisan environment, even unintentional errors like this can escalate into accusations of partisanship,” he said.