Facebook Tests New Contextual 'Labels' for Posts From Popular Pages

[MacRumors]

Facebook is testing the use of Page labels as a way to give people more context about the posts that appear in their news feed, the social network has announced.

Politicians' pages will be marked with the label "public official," while the labels "fan page" and "satire page" will be applied to posts from the relevant pages, with the aim of helping users to distinguish between genuine news reports from satirical stories written by the likes of The Onion.

The labels should also allow users to immediately realize when they are reading news from real authorities or more questionable sources, which could reduce confusion, mitigate the spread of fake news on the platform, and reduce avoidable flame wars in comments.

The new labels will appear below Page names on relevant posts in the news feed, and users can expand them to read more about why they are deemed necessary.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1379887135998763014

The labels are currently limited to Facebook in the U.S., and the feature has only just started being tested, so the ability to label pages accordingly and see the labels in posts may still be rolling out.

Facebook has been criticized heavily in the past for not doing enough to stop the spread of fake news. A study by researchers at Princeton University in March 2020 found that Facebook is by far the worst social media platform for spreading dubious news content, compared to Twitter and Google.

Article Link: Facebook Tests New Contextual 'Labels' for Posts From Popular Pages

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

Okay fair move, but the user still has to input the label themselves.

I doubt the kind of person that creates a 'satire page' would reveal its nature before anyone even clicks on it...

 

[pavvel]

Oh Facebook please! Just do society a favour and go bust.

 

[TonyC28]

Nice to see FB making an effort to stop the spread of fake news. What concerns me is Facebook has also engaged in the stopping of real news. But if you’re relying on FB for news you’re doing it wrong anyway.

 

[Octopuss]

Facebook tests our patience. How much more BS users are willing to consume.

 

[itsmeaustend]

Problem is I bet a lot of the uneducated users won’t even know what satire means.

 

[IIGS User]

I decided to take a break from Facebook & all social media about a month and a half ago.

I don't miss it one bit. It drives my wife crazy for some reason that I'm not on it. It became a cees pool of politics, anger, one upsmanship, and people saying things they would get punched for if they said it to someone's face. And they KNOW it.

Too many people get fired or loose relationships over misunderstandings that result from the social media circus.

 

[qoop]

I'm not a member of their religious cult.

 

[qoop]

Problem is I bet a lot of the uneducated users won’t even know what satire means.

I bet they'd even have to look up calumny.

 

[otternonsense]

Two things I wish for:
1) Facebook going literally to hell
2) Brands to stop using notch-less iPhone mockups like it's ever gonna happen in the next years

 

[rp100]

Yet another feature where Facebook does the thinking for the user.

How should I vote? What should I care about? What should make me outraged? What will make me laugh? What does it mean to be healthy? Who shares the same ideas as me? Are people who disagree with me degenerates? Tell me I matter. Tell me I’m loved. Tell me life isn’t meaningless. Tell me what I want to hear. Tell me what I believe is true. Tell me what to think.

 

[MacOH21]

Do they have label's for CrazyAunt and RacistUncle?

 

[imnotthewalrus]

Way too little, way too late.

 

[definitive]

looks like youtube, twitter, and facebook are getting into the business of telling people how to think and act. all these definitions, fact-checks, and notes.

 

[shapesinaframe]

The joke isn’t funny when you have to explain it.

 

[tranceking26]

Far too late to help now. fb users minds have been warped for years at this point. The damage is done.

 

[Minxy]

Nice to see FB making an effort to stop the spread of fake news. What concerns me is Facebook has also engaged in the stopping of real news. But if you’re relying on FB for news you’re doing it wrong anyway.

Combatting fake news is one thing, but if this labelling of anything that isn't strictly true it means if a someone is being ironic or telling a joke then it will need to be labelled - I don't want things to go down that route that eradicates the subtlety of communication.

 

[IllinoisCorn]

Who determines “context?”

It doesn’t matter if it’s Alex Jones or the NYT or Facebook. Whoever writes the news, crafts the narrative and ultimately controls the news.

 

[bb9]

I do not get why people do not get their news directly from their prefer “news websites”❓

 

[NewUsername]

Warning, you are now entering a webpage which may contain jokes. A joke is a statement made to cause amusement or laughter, especially a story with a funny punchline. If you have any trouble discerning the humorous nature of any of the statements you encounter on this webpage, you may need guidance to help you understand of the meaning of these statements. Please agree to our terms and conditions, privacy policy et cetera et cetera

 

[ArPe]

Download pic of Zuck 👺

Right click on it.

Mark it with Red label 🔴

This means move it in the trash can 🗑

 

[macsareveryinteresting]

Oh Facebook please! Just do society a favour and go bust.

They probably never will knowing Mark Zuckerburg.

 

[macsareveryinteresting]

Nice to see FB making an effort to stop the spread of fake news. What concerns me is Facebook has also engaged in the stopping of real news. But if you’re relying on FB for news you’re doing it wrong anyway.

Like I’ve said before, I have never ever trusted FaceBook. Even Tim Cook knows that Mark Zuckerburg is selling your information.

 

[macsareveryinteresting]

I decided to take a break from Facebook & all social media about a month and a half ago.

I don't miss it one bit. It drives my wife crazy for some reason that I'm not on it. It became a cees pool of politics, anger, one upsmanship, and people saying things they would get punched for if they said it to someone's face. And they KNOW it.

Too many people get fired or loose relationships over misunderstandings that result from the social media circus.

I can’t stay away from Reddit for one day.

 

[macsareveryinteresting]

Two things I wish for:
1) Facebook going literally to hell
2) Brands to stop using notch-less iPhone mockups like it's ever gonna happen in the next years

Don’t worry. Tim Cook is going to kiss FaceBook goodbye soon.