Facebook to tag satirical articles to stop users falling for the Onion's jokes [View all]

Facebook is testing a new feature intended to stop users accidentally falling victim to satirical websites like the Onion, hoping that tagging articles could stop users accidentally believing joke stories.

If any of the users that are selected for the trial click through to a piece from the Onion and then go back to Facebook, the related stories that show beneath the link when users return will then feature a tag marking it out as satire.

"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,” a Facebook spokesperson told Ars Technica. “This is because we received feedback that people wanted a clearer way to distinguish satirical articles from others in these units."

Facebook said that the test had been happening for over a month and did not say whether the tag would be used on content from different websites, according to the statement.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-to-flag-satirical-articles-to-stop-users-falling-for-the-onions-jokes-9674483.html