Facebook is at it again with its tests and fancy updates. This time, they are working on providing more context to users in what they see on their newsfeed. Like any digital test, there will be a test and control group of people. The test group will have access to an “i” button atop links to certain articles in their newsfeed.
If you press on the little “I” (information) button than a pop up will appear with extra information regarding the article. The information will include all Wikipedia entries posted by the publisher, Trending or related articles to the same topic, and info on how other users are sharing that article. If any of this information is unavailable for a certain article than the pop will inform users of its unavailability – which may also shed some light on the context.
“This new feature is designed to provide people some of the tools they need to make an informed decision about which articles to read, share, and trust. It reflects feedback from our community, including many publishers who collaborated on its development as part of our work through the Facebook Journalism Project,” proclaimed Facebook in a Newsroom post.
This change will not be seen by many unless the testing deems this feature useful. What do you think? Does this sound like a good idea? In my personal opinion, I believe this is just another ploy on Facebook’s part to control the things we are seeing and to manipulate how we feel about sources, weather trustworthy or not. They are going to make their sources appear the most credible while all outside sources will be declared as “Fake News”.
Click Here to watch a video published on Facebook, explaining the use of this new “i” button.
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