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Facebook Tests Downvote Option for Page Post Comments

As part of a test in New Zealand and Australia, Facebook is testing using upvotes and downvotes as a signal when ranking Page post comments.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Facebook is starting to look a little more like Reddit for some users.

The social network in February first started testing a downvote option with a small number of users. Now, Facebook is making that option more widely available.

In a statement to PCMag, the social network confirmed it's currently "running a test that introduces an upvote and downvote action for comments on large public Page posts." The company started testing this a few weeks ago with certain Pages in New Zealand and recently expanded it to a few more in Australia. Facebook acknowledged it's using these votes as a signal when ranking comments.

"Public discussions are an important part of Facebook, and people have told us they want more ways to make sure those discussions are constructive – even when people might disagree with each other," a Facebook spokesperson said in an email. "Facebook is a place for free expression, but we also recognize that there should be a way for people tell us and each other which comments are most thoughtful and useful."

The company went on to say that "this feature allows people to push those thoughtful and engaging comments to the top of the discussion thread, and to move down the ones that are simply attacks or filled with profanity."

The new feature will not affect your personal News Feed or interactions with friends, Facebook added.

On Twitter, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian quipped that he was "flattered" by Facebook trying out the feature.

When it first started testing the feature in February, Facebook stressed that it's not a dislike button.

"We are not testing a dislike button," the company said in an email at the time. "We are exploring a feature for people to give us feedback about comments on public page posts."

Meanwhile, Facebook recently published the lengthy "Community Standards" its reviewers use to decide what type of content—and who—to remove from the platform. The move to publish these once internal guidelines comes after The Guardian last year obtained and posted snippets of the company's exhaustive and sometimes contradictory rules.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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