Facebook is launching a new feature to warn users if they are about to share a news article that is over 90 days old, the social media platform announced Thursday.
Facebook said the feature aims to help users have “the context they need to make informed decisions” about what to share on the platform.
“In recent months, our internal research found that the timeliness of an article is an important context that helps people decide what to read, trust, and share,” Facebook said in the announcement. “News editors in particular have expressed concern about old stories being shared on social media as current news, which may misinterpret the state of current events.”
With the new feature, a notification will appear with a warning before people share an old article. The platform will still allow people to continue sharing the previous article “if they decide that an article is still relevant.”
Facebook said it will test other notification screens as well, including the ability to add a notification for links that mention COVID-19.
Facebook has been criticized for its role in spreading misinformation.
The platform has also excluded fact-check information shared by politicians, unlike Twitter, which has placed fact-check warnings in posts shared by politicians, including President Trump
Donald John Trump: Trump rally triggers quarantine of dozens of Republican Secret Service agents: Trump needs new plan Trump faces ObamaCare court deadline as political terrain changes MORE.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Elliot ZuckerbergHillicon Valley: Justice Department Announces Substitute Indictment Against Assange From WikiLeaks | Facebook ad boycott gains momentum | FBI Sees Rise in Coronavirus-Related Cyber Threats | Boston city government bans facial recognition technology Facebook boycott gains momentum Ben & Jerry’s is the last company to join the Facebook advertising boycott MORE He defended the decision not to verify lawmakers last month, after Twitter placed warnings on Trump’s tweets for the first time. Zuckerberg said he does not believe Facebook should be “the arbiter of the truth of everything people say online.”
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