Facebook Removing 'Trending' News Section Because People Found it 'Less and Less Useful'

[MacRumors]

Facebook today announced that it will remove its "Trending" section from the web and all mobile devices starting next week, in an effort to "make way for future news experiences." Facebook says that its users have found Trending "less and less useful," leading to the closure of the section, which stacks the latest news articles from the day into various categories.

On the web, Trending is found on the right toolbar, but in iOS it's a bit more buried in the More tab > Explore > Trending News. Facebook launched the section in 2014, but it's since only been available in five countries and accounts for "less than 1.5 percent of clicks to news publishers on average." The removal of Trending will also mark the elimination of products and third-party partner integrations that rely on Trends API.

We're removing Trending soon to make way for future news experiences on Facebook.

We've seen that the way people consume news on Facebook is changing to be primarily on mobile and increasingly through news video. So we're exploring new ways to help people stay informed about timely, breaking news that matters to them, while making sure the news they see on Facebook is from trustworthy and quality sources.

In its place, the social media company outlined three ways it will keep users in the know about breaking news. One is a "Breaking News Label," which is a simple indicator publishers can place on their posts in a user's News Feed, as well as breaking news notifications. There is also a test for a new "Today In" section to connect users to important news from local publishers in their own cities.

Lastly, there will be new videos to view in Facebook Watch thanks to a dedicated section in the United States where users can check out exclusive live coverage, daily news briefings, and weekly deep dives. Facebook has long been attempting to expand its video presence within the mobile Facebook apps, debuting Watch last August for its exclusive video and TV content.

Article Link: Facebook Removing 'Trending' News Section Because People Found it 'Less and Less Useful'

 

[johnyslats]

I’ll place my trust in Twitter for that sort of information, thank you very much. #DeleteFacebook

 

[itsmilo]

Didn’t even know this as a thing lol but I am only using the „top feed“ to „most recent“ switch anyway

 

[Elijen]

People also started removing Facebook because they find it less and less useful.

 

[miniyou64]

I’ll place my trust in Twitter for that sort of information, thank you very much. #DeleteFacebook

Its not even possible to get more one sided that the way Twitter highlights “news” You think they don’t manipulate things?

 

[johnyslats]

Its not even possible to get more one sided that the way Twitter highlights “news” You think they don’t manipulate things?

Not referring to Twitter 'moments' here, just the genuine trends. I can then make my own mind up which tweets are from reputable sources

 

[miniyou64]

Not referring to Twitter 'moments' here, just the genuine trends. I can then make my own mind up which tweets are from reputable sources

I don’t disagree in principle. But it’s always concerned me that they can still pick winners and losers as to what things appear more prominently or at all in anyone’s feed, even just in a small way and no one would be able to know that’s actually happening.

 

[Foxglove9]

One of the few features I found useful on that lousy site.

 

[Binarymix]

One of the few features I found useful on that lousy site.

Yeah me too, until google revamped their news app, now I’m using that mostly. (No Apple news in Canada)

 

[macduke]

Everything they do is useless. I dream of a day when they’re gone.

 

[corebeliefs]

Facebook found that unacceptable news (to Facebook and its political affiliation) was too popular, and branding it fake news didn't deter people from sharing the wrong (to Facebook and its political affiliation) news.

So, we're taking our marble and goin' home.

 

[dampfnudel]

Facebook is increasingly becoming irrelevant to people under the age of 50, especially those who don’t have older relatives they want to stay connected to. That’s ironic given that a decade ago it was basically made up of people in their teens and twenties. Let’s hope FB doesn’t screw up Instagram.

 

[Jimmy Bubbles]

You mean, people still find Facebook useful? The most useful feature I found was “delete profile” — my favorite part of a CRUD app like theirs.

 

[C DM]

You mean, people still find Facebook useful? The most useful feature I found was “delete profile” — my favorite part of a CRUD app like theirs.

Different have all kinds of different preferences and likes and dislikes about all kinds of things in life? Crazy.

 

[lederermc]

I’ll place my trust in Twitter for that sort of information, thank you very much. #DeleteFacebook

I'll place my trust my the NY Times. #DeleteTwitter

 

[harrisondavies]

Just this week I deleted my account and felt a weight lift from my shoulders. No more waking up and instantly checking an increasingly purile source of drivel. Good riddance.

 

[Mizouse]

I guess I'm part of that 1.5% that used it.

 

[McG2k1]

I rely on gossip from my local blue collar deli for news, thank you very much.

 

[Strider64]

The only thing I basically use Facebook for is to keep in contact with Family and Friends. I have a sister who lives in PA and a good friend who lives in Kentucky. I every once in while will make comments on the local news groups to poke the hornets nest on political news.

 

[RickInHouston]

Facebook Removing 'Trending' News Section Because People Found it 'more and more Liberal'

Fixed.
[doublepost=1527884780][/doublepost]

I'll place my trust my the NY Times. #DeleteTwitter

Yikes! And The Washington Post, too?

 

[Candlelight]

The words “trending” and “news” shouldn’t be in the same sentence. News is news. It shouldn’t be ranked based on popularity.

 

[Michael Scrip]

The words “trending” and “news” shouldn’t be in the same sentence. News is news. It shouldn’t be ranked based on popularity.

I'm guessing the reason certain stories were "trending" was because they were being shared by people. The more people who are talking about it... the more popular it is. That's what services like Facebook and Twitter facilitate.

There aren't enough hours in the day to manually go seek out every story on hundreds of websites.

But if they appear on a "Top 10" list because many people found interest in it... there's a good chance I'll see it too.

At least that's the theory.

However... it was only available in a handful of countries... and people didn't really pay attention to the "trending" stories part of the website anyway.

So Facebook will have to go back to the drawing board to find some new way to do news.

 

[expiredyogurt]

that little ticker thing at the top right corner is literally the only place i get my news from. its short and nice to provide me with snippets and if im interested in that particular news then i'll click on it and view it which is usually from reputable sources and i get to see the comment section which mainly comprise of douchebag vs douchebag. sad to see it gone

 

[peterh988]

Facebook found that unacceptable news (to Facebook and its political affiliation) was too popular, and branding it fake news didn't deter people from sharing the wrong (to Facebook and its political affiliation) news.

So, we're taking our marble and goin' home.

Yep, somehow, one of the most popular hashtags on twitter (UK) has suddenly stopped appearing in their top trending lists, because it's politically inconvenient for them.

 

[IJ Reilly]

The words “trending” and “news” shouldn’t be in the same sentence. News is news. It shouldn’t be ranked based on popularity.

The story that Facebook is deleting their trending news feed popped up this morning in my trending news feed. Oh the irony.

The entire concept of "trending" is at least within hailing distance of a hoax, whether it's news or something else. Netflix also pushes content at viewers under the trending banner. What they call trending only happens to be almost entirely their own productions. What a coincidence. Trending is marketing by another name.