Facebook is adding a new feature to limit users from sharing articles before they actually read them. It's a smart addition that could help in battling misinformation, but that doesn't mean it's a wholly original idea, either.
In June 2020, Twitter added the same thing to its social platform. If a user tries retweeting an article before tapping on it, Twitter asks if they want to read the article first. Users can retweet it without reading the article if they want, but the idea is to encourage people to read things before sharing them. It's a reminder that many of us could use, and just about a year later, Facebook is adding the same exact thing.
On the Facebook Newsroom Twitter account, Facebook announced that it's "testing a way to promote more informed sharing of news articles." When users try sharing a news article link that they haven't opened, Facebook will "show a prompt encouraging you to open and read it, before sharing it with others." Below the warning message, Facebook gives users shortcuts to read the article or continue sharing without reading. The whole setup is virtually identical to Twitter's prompt, and everyone — including Facebook — is well aware of the similarities. In a tweet from David Gillis, a designer at Facebook, he said, "And yes —hat-tip to Twitter for getting this one out in the wild sooner."
Twitter Proved That These Warnings Actually Work
A feature like this sounds good in theory, but in real-world use, does it actually work? While it remains to be seen how the Facebook audience reacts to it, Twitter has previously been optimistic about its effect. A few months after launching its own warning message, Twitter said that people were opening articles 40 percent more often after seeing the prompt. Furthermore, there was a 33 percent increase in users reading articles before retweeting them.
Even if these numbers don't translate exactly to Facebook, it's still proof that a warning message like this can help prevent reckless sharing on social media. It's far too easy to tap that retweet or share button without taking the time to actually read an article. For some people, a small reminder like this helps break that habit. There will still be plenty of others that continue to share articles without reading them, but any improvement in this regard will be great to see. It's unclear how widespread Facebook's initial testing of the feature will be, but here's to hoping it rolls out to everyone sooner rather than later.
Source: Facebook. David Gillis