Facebook has improved their news feed algorithm to reduce clickbaits. We have seen our Facebook News feed getting flooded with clickbaits having tricky headlines like “You will never use shampoo after watching what happened to this lady”, “When She Looked Under Her Couch Cushions And Saw THIS… I Was SHOCKED!”; “He Put Garlic In His Shoes Before Going To Bed And What Happens Next Is Hard To Believe”; or “The Dog Barked At The Deliveryman And His Reaction Was Priceless.” etc. Even though a conscious user knows the difference but relevant stories and clickbaits but many users often get enticed by these types of news.
Since many days, Facebook has received requests and feedbacks from users to cut down clickbaits and now the company is focusing on the same. With the new update people will see fewer clickbaits on their News Feed. The facebook system will identify posts that are clickbait and will also check which web domains and Pages are posting these types of clickbaits. Links coming continuously from a single page, then posts from those pages will appear less on your news feed.
“We are focusing more effort on this [reducing clickbait], and are updating News Feed by using a system that identifies phrases that are commonly used in clickbait headlines. First, we categorized tens of thousands of headlines as clickbait by considering two key points: (1) if the headline withholds information required to understand what the content of the article is; and (2) if the headline exaggerates the article to create misleading expectations for the reader.”
