Facebook is testing a new feature that will prompt users to read articles before they share the same.

“We’re testing a way to promote more informed sharing of news articles. If you share a news article link you haven’t opened, we’ll show a prompt encouraging you to open it and read it, before sharing it with others,” Facebook said in a tweet from its official Newsroom account.

The social media major’s new feature is similar to a prompt launched by Twitter last year. Twitter began testing the prompt that asked users to read articles before they shared the same last year. It prompted users to read articles that they hadn’t opened on Twitter before re-tweeting them.

Later that year, it had announced that it would prompt users on Android and iOS to read any website link before re-tweeting.

The prompt is made to curb the spread of misinformation on these platforms. Facebook’s prompt warns users that “Sharing articles without reading them may mean missing key facts.”

Social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, have been criticised for growing misinformation on their platforms, especially amid Covid-19. The companies have taken various steps to combat the same.

comment COMMENT NOW