Facebook's news feed begins to explain itself
Facebook has announced a new feature called "Why do I see this post?" That lets you see information on why a particular post has appeared on your news feed from the Facebook app. The new option was announced Sunday and is an extension of an existing feature Facebook already provides ads. In addition to seeing why a post has appeared, it will also give you control over how often you see posts like that in the future.
You can access the new option using the drop-down menu at the top right of the entry. When you open, you will be shown Facebook's logic for why it thought you might want to see a post. This can include how many times you interact with the post author in the past, which posts you usually interact with (such as photos or videos), and the overall popularity of the post itself.
In addition to explaining why your news site shows you a particular post, the new feature will also give you shortcuts to tools that control if you see posts like that again in the future. These include First and Foremost options, as well as linking to your news feed settings.
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The service is existing "Why do I see this ad?" the function is also updated as part of the changes. Facebook already provides you with basic information on how your ads have been targeted to you, for example, by telling you that an advertiser has chosen to target people of age and gender. Now you see more details, such as whether the advertiser has uploaded a mailing list with your email address in it.
We have long argued that Facebook's news feed must begin to explain itself even if the service is to regain confidence in users, and these new options are an important step in that direction. However, it does not solve the more basic problems with the service, such as the "filter bubble", the idea that personalization tools from companies like Facebook and Google have isolated us from conflicting views – it just explains how it is created. [19659009] The changes roll out starting this week, and are expected to be available to all users by mid-May.