Facebook Tests Downvote Button
Facebook confirms it is testing a downvote button, but clarifies it is not a dislike tab.
In a bid to promote more "meaningful" posts for its users, Facebook is currently testing a downvote button for flagging comments.
The social media platform said it is testing the feature on a number of public Page posts as a way of asking for users' help in identifying which comments should be put to the top and which should be downgraded to invisibility.
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"We are not testing a dislike button," Facebook said in an official statement. "We are exploring a feature for people to give us feedback about comments on public page posts. This is running for a small set of people in the U.S. only."
Screenshots of the downvote button first circulated on Twitter, after some users wondered whether Facebook is starting to rank its comment system the way Reddit does in its own platform.
Facebook confirmed as much to The Verge. According to the networking company, anyone who taps the downvote button will be asked whether the comment is "offensive," "misleading" or "off-topic." After which, the specific comment will not be visible to the user who deemed it questionable.
Other people will not know when a comment has been downvoted. Unlike reactions, there will be no downvoting count as well.
Although a seemingly simple button, some wonder whether this is Facebook's way of censoring its users, as it takes on a more responsible form of communication this year.
In early January, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in a blog post that the social media portal is taking a more "meaningful" direction this year. "One of our big focus areas for 2018 is making sure the time we all spend on Facebook is time well spent," he wrote.
Zuckerberg then reiterated the company's goal to put friends and family at the "core of the experience." That means making sure that businesses, brands, media, and irrelevant topics do not get in the way of "personal moments."
