Facebook continues to take steps to ensure that the world’s largest social network is not used for the spread of propaganda. The company today confirmed that it’s testing a new way to provide additional context on articles that users see in their News Feed. The feature has been designed to help users make an informed decision about which stories they should trust, read, and share. The feature has been developed based on feedback from the community and the partners that worked with Facebook on its Journalism Project.
Facebook is going to display a new button for links to articles shared in News Feed. Users can tap on it to access additional information without having to go elsewhere. The contextual information is populated from across Facebook and other sources.
The button will appear as a small “i.” Tapping on it will pull up a card which provides details on what the media outlet is, some context about the story, and a heat map of where the article is being shared in the world. It will also display people in the user’s network who also shared the same article.
Facebook says that providing this level of contextual information about articles shared in News Feed will help its users evaluate whether the articles are from a publisher they trust and whether the story itself is credible.
The company says that it will continue to listen to feedback and work with publishers to provide easier access to contextual information that makes the decision process easier for users.