Facebook’s latest site update is targeting so-called’ ‘like-baiting’ posts from advertisers that openly target readers to like, comment or share a post as part of its efforts to eliminate ‘spammy’ content in News Feed.
The update mainly focuses on Pages that explicitly seek Likes, Comments and Shares, whilst not affecting Pages that rightfully support discussion among their fans.
Furthermore, the social networking giant noted that it would even punish Page owners and marketers who try to spread their content either by seeking likes and comments, or by misleading users to websites that are mostly adverts.
Facebook software engineer Erich Owens and product manager Chris Turitzin said in a joint statement that over time, these stories lead to a less enjoyable experience of Facebook since they drown out content from friends and Pages that people really care about.
"The improvement we are making today better detects these stories and helps ensure that they are not shown more prominently in News Feed than more relevant stories from friends and other Pages," they said.
Facebook also claims like-baiting stories are, overall, 15% less relevant compared to other stories with an equivalent number of likes, comments and shares.
Further, the site is also targeting Pages that frequently upload the same photos and videos, in addition to spammy links that trap users into viewing websites with ads.
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"We’re making these changes to ensure that feed spam content does not drown out the content that people really want to see on Facebook from the friends and Pages they care about," it added.
