Facebook has found a new way to combat spam in the News Feed: restricting the reach of spammers.
It seems like an obvious move, but it’s the social platform’s latest attempt at minimizing fake news and clickbait in its feeds. The latest algorithm tweak will identify links favored by users who post 50-plus times per day and limit the reach of those links. But Facebook isn’t even checking into the content of those links: “The correlation between these types of users and spammy/false content is strong enough that Facebook doesn’t have to,” according to Recode.
This means that even if a reputable source or big publication shares a link, if it’s also been shared by so-called “super-posters” suspected of spamming, the link’s reach will be diminished. But speaking of publishers (which frequently cross that 50-post threshold), it’s important to note this tweak won’t count them in the ranks of spammers; that classification is reserved for individual users instead.
With 2 billion people now on the platform, and many users relying on Facebook for their daily news, Facebook is taking its role in the spread of fake news very seriously. Previous efforts to curb the reach of such content have included visibly flagging stories that have been disputed by reputable sources and cracking down on fake accounts.
H/T Recode