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Instead of dislike, Facebook is testing 'Reactions' animated emoji

Last night Engadget brought you a sneak peek at Facebook's new "Reactions" feature, and today the social network confirmed it's now in testing. Instead of the often-requested "dislike" to counter the existing Like button, founder Mark Zuckerberg explains (in a video embedded after the break) that this idea is just about giving more options to express yourself. Whether or not the feelings of love, sadness and empathy are what you're trying to project, the test is currently limited to users in Ireland and Spain. If you are there (or use a browser proxy service like Hola to fake it) you'll see something like the picture above, after long pressing the Like button on the website or mobile apps. Depending on how things go, this could roll out to the rest of the billion or so Facebook users soon, but it looks like any official support for dislike is never going to be in the plans.

Today we're launching a test of Reactions -- a more expressive Like button. The Like button has been a part of Facebook for a long time. Billions of Likes are made every day, and Liking things is a simple way to express yourself.For many years though, people have asked us to add a "dislike" button. Not every moment is a good moment, and sometimes you just want a way to express empathy. These are important moments where you need the power to share more than ever, and a Like might not be the best way to express yourself.At a recent Townhall Q&A, I shared with our community that we've spent a lot of time thinking about the best way to give you better options for expressing yourself, while keeping the experience simple and respectful. Today we're starting to test this.Reactions gives you new ways to express love, awe, humor and sadness. It's not a dislike button, but it does give you the power to easily express sorrow and empathy -- in addition to delight and warmth. You'll be able to express these reactions by long pressing or hovering over the Like button. We're starting to test Reactions in Ireland and Spain and will learn from this before we bring the experience to everyone. We hope you like this – or can better express how you're feeling!

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, October 8, 2015