Facebook has rolled out another update to their News Feed algorithm. This update is focused on showing users more timely information, as well as further limiting the amount of fake news posts that get displayed. Both of these updates are designed to provide users more authentic information in their News Feed.
Marketers who have been bringing in tons of traffic through fake or questionable news sites are almost certainly going to see a big drop as this update completes its rollout. Of course, this shouldn’t be a big surprise to anyone since Facebook (and many other social networks) has been saying they will push back against fake news for months.
One of the ways that Facebook is looking to limit this type of thing is by punishing posts that come right out and ask for likes/follows.
The logic behind this seems to be that real news doesn’t ask readers for anything, but simply offers the authentic news story for people to view. News stories should get likes, follows, and shares naturally without being prompted by the person publishing it.
In the company’s annual filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today, Facebook for the first time added a couple of brief mentions of the subject in its list of risk factors.
