Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
FACEBOOK BEGAN UPDATING its News Feed formula to cut down on “clickbait” headlines that promise much more than they deliver.
The tweak takes aim at headlines that intentionally leave out crucial information or mislead people, prompting them to click on links to stories to find out more, according to a blog post by Facebook researchers Kristin Hendrix and Alex Peysakhovich.
Headline examples given included “When She Looked Under Her Couch Cushions And Saw This…I Was Shocked!” and “He Put Garlic In His Shoes Before Going To Bed And What Happens Next Is Hard To Believe.”
“We’ve heard from people that they specifically want to see fewer stories with clickbait headlines or link titles,” Hendrix and Peysakhovich said.
“With this update, people will see fewer clickbait stories and more of the stories they want to see higher up in their feeds.”
Facebook had previously taken aim at clickbait with a News Feed update that reduced distribution of posts with links that people clicked on only to quickly return to the social network.
Facebook, which has some 1.7 billion users, said that it is cracking down even harder on clickbait by using a system that targets headlines that withhold information needed to understand what the article contains or which exaggerate to mislead readers.
For example, the headline “You’ll Never Believe Who Tripped and Fell on the Red Carpet” doesn’t clue readers into people involved or even the exact event.
“A team at Facebook reviewed thousands of headlines using these criteria, validating each other’s work to identify a large set of clickbait headlines,” the researchers said.
Any change in Facebook’s algorithm which ranks and places items in a user’s feed is closely watched by publishers because of the vast amount of potential traffic from the largest social media platform.
Clickbait headlines are typically tailored to spark people’s curiosity to lead them to stories that don’t live up to reader expectations but generate advertising revenue.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The media has a a vitally important democratic function to perform in making Trump and his current administration fully visible.
Media exposure will highlight what Trump is about.
@Johnny Leddin: only Trump worries about thumbs. It is his downfall.
@Tony Daly: like they did with clinton…right…
Exactly like Clinton. He was hounded by the media after his affair in office.
The media should be treated with contempt!
What do reporters think the new administration is playing at?…to me it seems like some sort of Bond plot where the obvious is a diversion to what is really going on…there are bigger things cooking in the background which they don’t want us to know about.
@winston smith: the focus is on Trump’s temperament at the moment and the increasing realisation that Trump is temperamentally unsuitable to be President of the US.
@Tony Daly: is that a fact or just your anti trump opinion….
Trump won because of a fawning uncritical ratings-driven media which gave him billions in free publicity.
@Were Jammin: he won because hillary took her eye of the ball and wouldn’t listen to the fears many people have in the US regarding immigration..she just called them all deplorables. That is a fact
@Were Jammin: he won because hillary took her eye of the ball and wouldn’t listen to the fears many people have in the US regarding immigration..she just called them all deplorables. That is a fact
@Were Jammin: Trump won because the media were uncritical of him – are you on drugs?
The media is ‘temperamentally unsuitable’ to cover the White House.
What’s most fascinating about this article is the constant use of “said one reporter” for even the most mundane observation. Did The Journal not get their names, or did the reporters insist on strict anonymity for reasons beyond my ken; or, more troublingly, does The Journal imagine itself a Player in DC political media who needs to keep their “sources” secret lest Trump’s team read this article?
The Media is frantically trying to do an about-face. From the time “President” nominated, they fawned over him because he gave them lots of meat and potatoes, encouraged by Murdoch, Kochs etc… Then, against all the pundits and odds, he became POTUS. 60+ days in, and the media are looking at themselves in horror, that they facilitated this Con Man get the Oval Office. Now, they’re falling over themselves to get him and his misbegotten, incompetent hangers-on out. There is enough blame to go around, so the media have now to start doing things right.
Surprised the Journal was allowed in.
You cannot hope to bribe or twist – thank God! – the average journalist…
have your say