Facebook attempts to add a human touch to the repulsive content management system with – Downvote. Not Dislike, Facebook Downvote
Facebook Downvote is the social media giant’s attempt to give users an outlet to share their feedback on content that is problematic or distasteful – this feedback however, is for Facebook and not the writer or creator of the content.
“We are not testing a dislike button. 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,” a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Facebook Downvote takes a more authoritative route than all their previous attempts of flagging misleading or offensive content. How so? One of the few options available prior to this were to hide a comment, which however is visible only once the user clicks on the more options dropdown arrow.
On the other hand, Facebook Downvote is available right on the surface. Once clicked on, the user will be given a few options like – offensive, misleading, off topic - to tag how the content is in bad taste. A process similar to what a user follows when blocking another user or untagging themselves from posts.
The report further suggests that right now Facebook Downvote is being rolled out as a “short term test” for “5% of Android users in the U.S. with language set to English.” As of now, Facebook will not reveal how many downvotes a particular post has received nor will it impact the post’s ranking.
UPDATE
Since multiple reports confirmed Facebook’s intention of rolling out the Downvote button, the social media giant has since this morning begun to rollout the same to more users.
The Facebook Downvote button is intended to assume the role of an aggregator for comments that are least helpful, unrelated, spam and in many cases these days, distasteful and inappropriate.
Facebook users from Australia and New Zealand are reported to have received access to the new Upvote-Downvote feature and while some users are confused, others are outrightly expressing their dislike towards it.
Some Facebook users even pointed out the similarities it shares with Reddit’s Upvote-Downvote system, in place for years now.
A wider rollout could be foreseen if the new update proves to be helpful when it comes to reducing nuisance.
Stay tuned in for more Facebook updates.
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