Facebook has started adding tags to satire pages, so he can make sure people don’t confuse satire for, you know, real news.
While smart people on the internet generally know how to say ‘real’ news other than satire, it’s true that many Facebook users don’t. Too often it happens that someone sees an article from The Onion or the Borowitz Report as if it is serious news.
The new tags appear under the page title as a bit of gray texture.
As of today in the U.S., we are testing a way to give people more context about the Pages they see. We will gradually begin to apply tags, including “public servant,” “fan page,” or “satire page” to posts in the News Feed, so people can better understand who they’re coming from. pic.twitter.com/Bloc3b2ycb
– Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) April 7, 2021
But wait, there’s more! The company also removes the labels “public official” and “fan page” for added transparency. The new labels are based on disclaimers added last year for state-controlled media.
The tags are starting to be posted today, though Facebook notes that it ‘tests’ the feature, so you may still have to deal with family members who unknowingly share satire for a while.
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Posted April 9, 2021 – 12:04 AM UTC