NEW YORK — Another hoax post is going viral on Facebook.
A rumor has been circulating that Facebook’s algorithm will show users content from just 26 of their friends, but that can be changed if friends comment on the viral post. Those friends who comment, the rumor has it, will then show up in more feeds.
That’s not true.
Putting the rumors to rest, a Facebook representative told Snopes.com the instructions laid out in the post are “misguided and ineffective.”
The post reads:
“How to avoid hearing from the same 26 FB friends and nobody else: Here is a post explaining why we don’t see all posts from our friends.
Newsfeed recently shows only posts from the same few people, about 25, repeatedly the same, because Facebook has a new algorithm.
Their system chooses the people to read your post. However, I would like to choose for myself, Therefore, I ask you a favor: if you read this message leave me a quick comment, a “hi”, a sticker, whatever you want, so you will appear in my news feed.”
According to Snopes.com, the posts began to be widely shared in December and picked up after CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged to devote 2018 to “fixing” the social platform.
Facebook’s algorithm – how it determines what content it shows users – is largely a mystery, but Zuckerberg said the new tweaks to the platform would prioritize posts from friends, family and groups over those of publishers and brands.
Facebook frequently tweaks this ranking algorithm tries to test these changes with a small percentage of users before rolling it out broadly to ensure the updates “behave as intended.”
The company said it will elevate posts that spark conversation and interaction between friends while demoting videos, news stories and business posts that users consume passively, without commenting and sharing — further making the latest hoax post’s claims all the more unreliable.
In a Facebook post, Zuckerberg said the change was informed by research that shows the “well-being” of users is better served by connecting with friends and family than by “passively reading articles or watching videos.”
After a number of users bought into the apparent rumor, lashing out at the change, Facebook officials released a statement dismissing the claim.
“We rank News Feed based on how relevant each post might be to you, and while we’ve made some updates that could increase the number of posts you see from your friends, your news feed isn’t limited to 25 of them,” officials said in a statement.
So how did their recent update affect your newsfeed? Tech expert Lance Ulanoff breaks it down.
“The biggest difference is – at the top of your newsfeed instead of seeing stories from news sources like media companies and brands, you’re going to see posts from your friends, your family, your colleagues – the people you know and love and are interested in,” Ulanoff told PIX11 News.
CNN contributed to this report.
