Facebook ponders ‘dislike’ functions

Facebook is thinking about adding a way to “dislike” posts on its site, founder Mark Zuckerberg has said.

Speaking at a Q&A session in California, he said it was one of the most requested features the social network receives from its users.

He said the site would need to find a way to make sure it did not become a way to demean people’s posts.

Read also: US’ Election: Facebook Ponders Ban On Political Ad

According to Facebook’s own figures, 4.5 billion “likes” are generated every day.

“One of things we’ve thought about for quite a while is what’s the right way to make it so that people can easily express a broader range of emotions,” Mark Zuckerberg told an audience at Facebook’s headquarters.

“A lot of times people share things on Facebook that are sad moments in their lives. Often people tell us that they don’t feel comfortable pressing ‘like’ because ‘like’ isn’t the appropriate sentiment.

“Some people have asked for a dislike button because they want to say, ‘That thing isn’t good.’ That’s not something that we think is good for the world.

“The thing that I think is very valuable is that there are more sentiments that people want to express.”

Fake likes

Facebook’s Like button has been criticised as being a method by which the social network collects data on its users’ browsing habits.

The system has also come under fire due to a high volume of “fake likes” – when the popularity of a brand or piece of content is inflated artificially.

Facebook has moved to combat the trade of so-called “like farming” – businesses that, for a price, will provide a huge number of likes quickly. This will be via automated robots, or by a network of humans paid a tiny sum for each click.