Facebook rolls out satire tag to stop users believing parody stories
Facebook is testing a new satire tag on news posts to inform users when they are reading parody content from sites like the Onion and Newsthump.
The tag aims to curtail false news stories on the timeline
In a bid to separate fake news stories from real ones, the Facebook trial will see some users testing a labelling system informing them when content is intended to be humorous.
The test, which started last month, was launched to stop users believing joke stories as true with the "satire" tag sitting in the “related articles” segment of the timeline.
If the test is successful, the satire tag will be rolled out across the whole network, however Facebook has not revealed how many sites' content will be branded with the tag.
A Facebook spokesperson said: “We are running a small test which shows the text “Satire” in front of links to satirical articles in the related articles unit in news feed”.
“This is because we received feedback that people wanted a clearer way to distinguish satirical articles from others in these units.”
Parody news sites have become somewhat infamous on social networks with often outrageous, and incorrect headlines causing controversy among viewers.
This comes after it emerged earlier this year the social network was manipulating the newsfeed to study the emotions of over 700,000 selected users.