Facebook updates its algorithm to downrank posts that ask users to like or share

Facebook will demote posts that pull you into interacting with likes, shares, comments.

Tired of the spammy posts on Facebook that pull you into interacting with likes, shares, comments? (AFP)

Facebook on Monday said it will start to demote the posts that use "engagement bait" such as asking users to like, share or comment. The change has come into effect starting this week.

The interactive post, which for example says, "LIKE this if you're an Aries!", are known as "engagement bait". By boosting engagement, these posts seeks advantage of our "News Feed" algorithm to get greater reach.

"We will begin implementing stricter demotions for Pages that systematically and repeatedly use engagement bait to artificially gain reach in News Feed," Henry Silverman, Operations Integrity Specialist at Facebook, wrote in his blog post.

"We will roll out this Page-level demotion over the course of several weeks to give publishers time to adapt and avoid inadvertently using engagement bait in their posts," added Lin Huang, an engineer at the social networking firm.

To reduce engagement bait, Facebook would deploy machine learning model that can detect different types of engagement bait. The model will detect posts in the "News Feed" that are not authentic and will demoted them.

The exercise would reduce the spread of content that is spammy, sensational, or misleading in order to promote more meaningful and authentic conversations on Facebook, the post read.

The social networking giant had, similarly, in the past demoted clickbait headlines and links to low-quality web page experiences. However, posts that ask people for help, advice, or recommendations, such as circulating a missing child report, raising money for a cause, or asking for travel tips, will not be adversely impacted by this update.