In a headline that sounds like it very well could have come from the Onion, Facebook is testing out a new feature that places [Satire] tags in front of comedy articles to help people stop confusing satirical sites for real news.
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In a statement given to the BBC, a Facebook official confirmed that the website is trying out this new tag in front of satrical articles in the related articles section of a news feed. The change comes from user feedback that claimed Facebook users were having difficulty discerning breaking news from comedy.
"This is because we received feedback that people wanted a clearer way to distinguish satirical articles from others in these units," the statement read.
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With an entire website dedicated to the misinterpretation of satirical articles by clueless Facebook users, a demonstrated need for a tag like this certainly exists. The Onion, of course, has already issued a response to the situation in their own unique way.
There is little information about which sites are being granted the new tag and how many outlets Facebook plans to move into this new category. And because the [Satire] tag is, according to the statement, only being utilized when Facebook generates related articles, confused users could still run into trouble when these articles get posted directly by their friends.
At any rate, as the Onion continues to start up new projects, it's reassuring to know that Facebook is looking out for the overly trusting, not-too-discerning reader. If they can prevent just one person from taking an article about the uncanny prescience of Adam Sandler too seriously, that should be considered a job well done.