newsfeed
Latest
Facebook tests option to bypass profiles and only post to News Feed
Facebook appears to be testing different options for how users share posts. The Next Web's Matt Navarra tweeted tests of two new ways to post content that let you bypass posting to your profile.
Facebook's 'snooze' button mutes a friend for 30 days
A sad truth of Facebook: many of us follow people who annoy us pretty frequently. Rather than going through the social pain of un-friending someone, however, Facebook has offered the option to stay friends with someone but mute all of their posts in your News Feed. Today, Facebook is rolling out a similar feature that's a little less severe -- you can "snooze" friends, groups or pages for 30 days by clicking the drop-down menu on a post. It's a smart addition; Facebook itself says that many people want to stop seeing posts from people, but only for a temporary amount of time. Imagine having a friend whose vacation pictures are giving you serious FOMO, or you just need a break from your crazy uncle's MAGA rants (you might be better off unfollowing him entirely, but the choice is now up to you). While Facebook still relentlessly uses its algorithms to show posts in your News Feed, there's at least a decent amount of customization users can do here. Besides snoozing and unfollowing friends, you can also pick specific pages or friends that'll show updates at the top of your feed when you visit, or hide a post if you get sick of it popping in your feed. Of course, life would be easier if we all felt more comfortable just unfriending people we got tired of on Facebook, but one step at a time.
Facebook will try running ads in front of Watch videos
Facebook has been willing to run ads in the middle of videos, but it has historically been reluctant to put ads in front of videos and irk people just trying to watch a clip that surfaced in their News Feed. However, it might be willing to break with tradition in a limited way. The social network plans to test pre-roll ads in the Watch tab and other spaces where you "intentionally go to watch videos." You won't see pre-video ads while you're scrolling through your friends' updates, in other words, but you might when you sit down for a viewing. The trial will start in 2018 with 6-second clips, with Facebook studying the results to see what works best for different audiences and shows.
Facebook is testing a 'breaking news' tag for developing stories
Facebook will set a cookie to keep you logged in, but it won't set one to remember whether you want to stick with a chronological News Feed. That sort of thing makes it hard to tell at a glance how old a story from a media outlet in your Feed might be. To counter that, the social network is giving certain publications access to a "breaking" tag for their posts. The bright red tag sits below a post's image and highlights how long ago it was published. Recode writes that publishers will be able to flag a story for between 15 minutes and six hours, and that it can be used once every 24 hours.
Snapchat CEO blames rival social networks for fake news
Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel has decried rival social media firms for propagating fake news and damaging the media industry, saying that the "smart" alternative is, you guessed it, Snapchat. "The personalized newsfeed revolutionized the way people share and consume content," he wrote on Axios. "But let's be honest: this came at a huge cost to facts, our minds and the entire media industry."
Facebook tests VR in News Feed with ‘Jumanji’ experience
Since adding 360 videos to News Feeds in June 2016, Facebook has spent this year significantly invested in the format. It enabling 360 livestreaming and then added that functionality within its apps, and even boosted the back end with automatic image correction. But the social network isn't stopping its immersive push at flat imagery. Today Facebook announced it has started testing VR experiences in users' News Feeds, and its first experiment is a 'scavenger hunt' game for the upcoming Jumanji film.
Facebook's new media guidelines are focused on stopping fake news
Facebook came under fire after it admitted that it published 3,000 Russian-linked advertisements designed to influence the US Presidential Election. Those ads pointed to Pages that trafficked in fake news, which has been one of the social network's biggest problems for quite a while. Now, the company has listed a new set of guidelines for publishers/media organizations meant to combat false info from being spread on the platform. Those guidelines come with actionable strategies they can follow to avoid being flagged, as Facebook continues to tweak News Feed's algorithm to be better at burying fake information.
Facebook tests split News Feed that keeps friends front and center
Facebook is currently testing a new dual-feed setup that separates Page-generated posts from ads and posts from friends, The Guardian reports. The trial is currently underway in six countries -- Bolivia, Guatemala, Cambodia, Slovakia, Serbia and Sri Lanka.
Facebook tests a feature that provides info on article publishers
Facebook is still working out how to reduce the reach of fake news and misinformation on its site and today, it starts testing a new feature that sounds like it might be pretty useful. When an article link is shared in someone's News Feed, there will now be a small "i" button that will bring up additional information about the publisher and article when clicked. It will include information from the publisher's Wikipedia page, a link to follow its Facebook Page, Trending and Related articles about the same topic and a graphic on where and how the article is being shared across Facebook. When any of that information isn't available, Facebook will say that explicitly. That in itself is pretty useful. For example, if there's no Wikipedia page for the publisher of the piece, it could mean it's not a reputable outlet.
Facebook axed 'tens of thousands' of accounts before German election
Facebook released a recap today about the efforts it made to minimize the spread of fake news during Germany's recent election. Facebook VP Richard Allan said in the announcement, "These actions did not eliminate misinformation entirely in this election – but they did make it harder to spread, and less likely to appear in people's News Feeds. Studies concluded that the level of false news was low. We learned a lot, and will continue to apply those lessons in other forthcoming elections."
Facebook is testing a temporary unfollow option for your News Feed
Facebook is testing out a new feature that would let users temporarily unfollow a friend or a Page. TechCrunch noticed a Snooze option today, which a Facebook spokesperson confirmed to us is in testing mode. "We're testing new ways to give people control over their News Feeds so they can stay connected with the stories they find most relevant," they said.
Facebook’s fact-checkers say the company is withholding useful data
Facebook has been plucking away at its big fake news problem over the last few months. So far, it has cut off fake news sites from ad revenue and blocked advertisements from Pages that spread fake news. It has also deprioritized false reports and posts shared by high-frequency posters. And the company has also been incorporating fact-checkers into its system who go through articles tagged as fake and look into their claims. If they do turn out to be riddled with errors, the articles get flagged and fact-checked reports will now even show up alongside other related articles in the Trending News section.
Facebook will block ads from Pages that spread fake news
In its latest attempt to fix its fake news problem, Facebook will now block Pages that spread fake news from advertising on the site. "If Pages repeatedly share stories marked as false, these repeat offenders will no longer be allowed to advertise on Facebook," it said in a statement.
Facebook adds more ways to relive memories in your News Feed
Facebook's On This Day has become one of its more popular features, so it's adding a handful of similar memory-centric compilations to your Feed. Along with showing you the Facebook activity you were a part of in previous years, the site will now group recent posts into a monthly or seasonal recap story, which you'll be able to share just like your On This Day lookback. Additionally, your Feed will also congratulate you when you make a significant number of new friends or when you get a lot of likes on your posts. For now, those are only for you, but Facebook says they will become shareable in the future.
Facebook is making the News Feed easier to navigate
Over the next few weeks, Facebook will be introducing a few updates to its News Feed on desktop and mobile that make it clearer and easier to navigate. First, comments within a post are going to look a bit different. They'll now look like chat bubbles and replies to specific comments will be indented to make it clear that they're not a response to the general post.
Recommended Reading: The rise and fall of 'Mortal Kombat'
'Mortal Kombat's' 1997 Was the Opposite of a Flawless Victory Matt Gerardi, AV Club The Mortal Kombat franchise was riding high... and then 1997 rolled around. AV Club takes a look at the hot streak before the release of two games and a movie in the fall of that year. All three fell flat. That trio of shortcomings didn't kill the franchise completely, but it did enough damage to end Mortal Kombat's reign atop the video game world.
Facebook tries slipping more local politics into your News Feed
Facebook isn't shy about wanting to increase your involvement in politics, and that might soon include seeing posts from the politicians you don't follow. A spokesperson has confirmed to Recode that the social network is testing a feature that slips the "top posts" from local politicians into your News Feed, even when you don't follow them. You'll only see it once a week at the most, and only if you already follow at least one of your area's representatives (at any level), but it will lead to seeing political messages that you might have otherwise missed. And yes, that includes from other parties -- you may see what's popular on the other side of the fence.
Facebook News Feed will direct you to faster-loading links
It's not just bogus articles that can make your Facebook News Feed seem like a minefield -- it's also frustrating when a friend shares a web link that takes... forever... to... load. Thankfully, Facebook is as tired of twiddling its thumbs as you are. The social network is updating the News Feed over the months ahead to give higher priority to web links that load quickly on mobile devices. Facebook will gauge the speed on a handful of factors, including the quality of your own internet connection as well as the overall load times for a given page.
Facebook says high-frequency posters often share fake news
Facebook has taken another small step in its very mild battle with fake news. The website will now begin to deprioritize the links posted by users who share large amounts of posts each day.
Facebook battles clickbait on a post-by-post basis
Facebook has been steadily refining its attempts to fight clickbait articles over the years, and now it's getting very, very specific. It's updating its News Feed processing methods to account for clickbait on a post-by-post level, not just domains and Facebook pages. This should "more precisely" downplay the number of misleading stories cluttering your timeline, the social network says. Moreover, it's promising a more exacting approach when it looks at individual headlines.
