Facebook adds a “Why am I seeing this post?” tool

Current 2 April 2019

CAPE TOWN – Facebook has added a new tool called “Why am I seeing this post?” with the aim of aiding to stop the spread of unsuitable or misleading content on the site.

This comes in the form of a feature, which is similar to the “Why am I seeing this ad?” was introduced in 2014 on the social platform.

Ramya Sethuraman, product manager at Facebook said in a statement: "The goal of News Feed is to show people the posts that are most relevant to them. ‘Why am I seeing this post?’, which can be found in the drop-down menu in the right-hand corner of a post, explains how your past interactions impact the ranking of posts in your News Feed.”

According to Facebook, the tool can be used to let users know the following information:

Why you’re seeing a certain post in your News Feed — for example, if the post is from a friend you made, a Group you joined, or a Page you followed.

What information generally has the largest influence over the order of posts, including: (a) how often you interact with posts from people, Pages or Groups; (b) how often you interact with a specific type of post, for example, videos, photos or links; and (c) the popularity of the posts shared by the people, Pages and Groups you follow.

Shortcuts to controls, such as See First, Unfollow, News Feed Preferences and Privacy Shortcuts, to help you personalise your News Feed.?

WATCH:

Written by: Gabriella Steyn

Guzzle Media