Facebook takes temporary steps to scale down political content
The social media platform continues to reckon with the role its site played in boosting interest in the Jan. 6 rally that culminated in a mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.
By Taylor TelfordThe Washington Post
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Facebook is exploring ways to play down political content on users’ feeds as it reckons with the role its site played in boosting interest in the Jan. 6 rally that ended with a mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, the social media titan announced Wednesday.
Starting this week, Facebook temporarily will reduce political content in news feeds for a small slice of users in Brazil, Canada and Indonesia. It will do the same with a small percentage of American users in the coming weeks. The company also said it will stop recommending civil and political groups to users worldwide, as it did in the United States before the Nov. 3 election.
Facebook dials down the politics for its users
Three years ago, Facebook said it would pull back on the amount of content posted to the site by news publishers and brands, an overhaul that it said put more focus on interaction among friends and family. New York Times
Facebook (Image: Reuters)
After inflaming political discourse around the globe, Facebook is trying to turn down the temperature.
The social network announced Wednesday that it had started changing its algorithm to reduce the political content in users’ news feeds. The less political feed will be tested on a fraction of Facebook’s users in Canada, Brazil and Indonesia beginning this week and will be expanded to the United States in the coming weeks, the company said.