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Facebook To Demote Posts That Ask For 'Likes' Or Shares (recode.net)

Posted by BeauHD on from the engagement-baiting dept.

Facebook is cracking down on a new type of clickbait: Posts that ask people to "Like" or share or comment to goose engagement numbers, what Facebook is calling "engagement bait." Their solution? Demote the posts considered to be "engagement bait." Recode reports: Facebook has decided it doesn't like publishers gaming the system this way, and claims users don't like it either."People have told us that they dislike spammy posts on Facebook that goad them into interacting with likes, shares, comments, and other actions," the company wrote on its blog. So starting Monday, posts that Facebook considers to be engagement bait will be pushed down in News Feed. Beginning in a few weeks, publishers and Pages that continue to utilize this tactic will see their reach diminished for all of their posts.

3 of 85 comments (clear)

  1. Awesome!!! by Major_Disorder · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have always made it a point to never like, or share any post that asks me to.
    But that didn't stop those posts from annoying me.

    --
    First law of people: People are generally stupid.
    1. Re:Awesome!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Youtube needs to follow suit and demonetize any video that asks viewers to "like and subscribe" or "smash that like button."

  2. Maybe it's just me but by nehumanuscrede · · Score: 3, Interesting

    isn't the whole " like " thing the unwritten reason anyone even posts on Facebook ?

    I'm certainly no psychologist, but it seems to me that the only reason anyone ( who isn't trolling ) would post on Facebook at all is for the positive feedback it provides via the " like " mechanism. That's kind of the reason for the " like " button to begin with. It makes folks feel good about themselves. Happy users are loyal users who will keep coming back and spilling every detail about their life for Facebook and the data vacuum it hides.

    Perhaps I speak in error and the " likes " aren't the reward mechanism I think it is.

    We could ask Zuckerberg, but I doubt he would be in a divulgatory mood on the matter.