On Monday, Facebook announced a change to its News Feed algorithm that should result in you seeing fewer manipulative click-bait headlines.
Often, on Facebook, people post link headlines that are intentionally vague or misleading to encourage more people to click them and "go viral." Under the old system, Facebook’s News Feed algorithms would take the fact that you clicked a link as a sign the link is relevant to you and your friends’ interests. Facebook was then more likely to show the content to more people, furthering the viral spread – even if there was little that merited sharing.
Now, Facebook’s algorithms will take into account the time you spend visiting links posted on News Feeds. This means you’ll be more likely to see links to content your friends are actually reading, not just clicking. Facebook’s algorithms will also look more closely at engagement – links with more comments and discussion will be shown with increased frequency over links with a low number of likes and comments but a high number of clicks.
For more on how Facebook determines what shows up in your News Feed, take a look at how the social network is battling Like-bait spam. Then find out why old news keeps appearing in your News Feed.
