Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed that the company is working on an alternative to the “Like” button.
“I think people have asked about the ‘Dislike’ button for many years,” said Zuckerberg this week. “Probably hundreds of people have asked about this.
“Today is special, because today is the day where I actually get to say we are working on it and are very close to shipping a test of it.”
Any trolls out there already frothing at the mouth at the prospect of a “Dislike” button should know that Zuckerberg has also explained that he’s trying to ensure the new feature will not be open to abuse.
Simply put, he doesn’t want Facebook users to routinely down vote other people’s posts.
What he does want is a button that allows Facebook users to express empathy. After all, nobody in their right mind wants to approve the death of a friend’s rabbit or a burglary.
“Not every moment is a good moment and if you’re sharing something that’s sad – like the refugee crisis that touches you, or a family member passed away – it may not feel comfortable to ‘Like’ that post,” he said.
“I do think it’s important to give people more options than just ‘Like’ as a quick way to emote and share what they’re feeling on a post.”
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Promisingly, it appears that the new Facebook feature is just around the corner, with Zuckerberg saying that it’s almost ready to test.
Fingers crossed that it isn’t called “Emote” or “Hug”.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
