Facebook Introduces Publisher Logo next to articles in Trending, Search section
Facebook has introduced publisher logos next to articles in Trending and Search sections. The additional feature will enable people know the source of news item on the social media which will help prevent the spread of fake news.
The Product Manager Facebook, Andrew Anker, said in a release that “Today, we will begin introducing publisher logos next to articles in Trending and Search surfaces on Facebook as part of our ongoing efforts to enhance people’s recognition of the sources of news distributed on our platform. Publishers will now be able to upload multiple versions of their logos through a new Brand Asset Library, so that the logos can appear next to their content on Facebook. We built this in close collaboration with a number of partners, as part of the Facebook Journalism Project, and are now rolling this out more broadly to all publishers.
“To start, we are introducing these logo treatments exclusively for articles in Trending and Search, but the eventual goal is to extend these to all places where people consume news on our platform.”
Research has shown that when people see a link to an article, it can be difficult for them to associate that link with a particular source. A recent study by the Pew Research Center found that only 56% of respondents could recall the source of a new link viewed on social sites.
By surfacing publisher logos next to article links, we want to make it easier for publishers to extend their brand identity on Facebook–to enhance people’s awareness of the source of content they see on Facebook, so they can better decide what to read and share.
“We’ll continue to solicit feedback and explore additional opportunities to reinforce publisher brand on Facebook. We look forward to continued collaboration with partners in support of a more informed community.” Anker stated.
Recall, Veteran British journalist Jon Snow and others labelled Facebook as a potential “threat to democracy” over the social network’s failure to tackle fake news.
“Facebook enabled the story: ‘Pope endorses Trump for President.’ That engaged more than a million people during the US elections. That same algorithm that prioritised many amazing reports of ours, also prioritised fakery on a massive scale,” Snow said.