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Facebook’s sneakiest ads yet

A new ticker feature on Facebook showing updates from friends also hosts advertisements, and users are upset.

 

Lauren Rae Orsini

Internet Culture

Posted on Sep 1, 2011   Updated on Jun 3, 2021, 3:01 am CDT

Facebook has found a sneaky new way to get ads on your feed.

It’s called the ticker. It sits next to your main news feed and purports to let you know whenever your friends are active on Facebook apps.

However, users are quickly discovering that it also has an ulterior motive. Subtly sprinkled in between updates from friends, you’ll find sponsored updates from third-party applications.

The Next Web hypothesizes that Facebook had to get more covert about ad placements because of a study showing that 18-to-29-year-olds, the network’s target audience, are 28 percent less likely to click on ads. In order for these users to click, they have to be tricked.

Needless to say, some users are sick of it.

The Daily Dot has compiled a Storify list to show Facebook user’s reactions:

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*First Published: Sep 1, 2011, 4:32 pm CDT