Facebook is slowly adding new labels to certain Pages to give users a better understanding of them. The labels will help users distinguish between real political content, fan Pages, and satire.
Facebook Wants to Prevent Confusion Over Satire
Facebook introduced the informative labels in a Tweet, stating that it's "testing a way to give people more context about the Pages they see." If you live in the US, you may soon start seeing labels like, "Public Official," "Fan Page," and "Satire Page," appear alongside Pages in your News Feed.
Starting today in the US, we’re testing a way to give people more context about the Pages they see. We’ll gradually start applying labels including 'public official,' 'fan page' or 'satire page' to posts in News Feed, so people can better understand who they’re coming from. pic.twitter.com/Bloc3b2ycb
— Facebook Newsroom (@fbnewsroom) April 7, 2021
In the screenshots that Facebook included in its Tweet, the label "Satire Page," appears beneath the name of the Page in the News Feed. Clicking on the label displays an explanation—it informs you what Satire Pages are, and tells you why that particular Page was labeled as such.
Facebook notes that "posts from Satire Pages can appear very similar to posts from public figures or conventional news sources." The label is supposed to put a stop to that confusion.
That said, Facebook is likely rolling out this feature to prevent users from thinking that satirical news stories are real. Sites like Babylon Bee and The Onion are known for their hilariously absurd stories about recent events, and it's not uncommon to see users actually believing them.
