Facebook announced that it will no longer tolerate “engagement bait” by making sure posts that solicit likes and comments in sensational ways are demoted from news feeds, thereby reaching fewer people. Facebook is referring to posts that specifically call users to act such as by liking, commenting, or sharing with enticing statements or offers. Brands may use it to generate more responses to a post, with posts such as “SHARE this post with 10 friends to win and be entered into a raffle” or “LIKE this if you’re a Libra.”
“We will begin implementing stricter demotions for Pages that systematically and repeatedly use engagement bait to artificially gain reach in News Feed,” Henry Silverman, operations integrity specialist at Facebook, wrote in a blog post.
However, soliciting help, advice, or recommendations from friends and family will not be penalized, Facebook says.
Facebook says its review of thousands of posts has led it to be able to use a machine learning model to now detect engagement bait posts. Pages that are serial offenders who “repeatedly use engagement bait to artificially gain reach” will see stricter demotions, Facebook says.
Facebook says instead of posts filled with “engagement bait,” it wants to create a network of more “authentic engagement.” The social network says it wants to “reduce the spread of content that is spammy, sensational, or misleading.” Facebook has faced criticism in recent months over allegations that it inadvertently spread fake news during the 2016 election cycle.
Source: “Facebook Wants to Reduce Engagement. Huh?” The Motley Fool (Dec. 18, 2017) and “Facebook Says It’s Cracking Down on ‘Engagement Bait,’” The New York Post (Dec. 18, 2017)
