Facebook will start limiting political content

(WILX) - In a new statement, Facebook says it will start to limit political content that appears on users’ news feeds.

The temporary reduction of political content will start this week in Canada, Brazil, and Indonesia. Similar steps will also be taken here in the US sometime over the next month.

This move is a part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to “turn down the temperature” of digital debates following last month’s deadly riot at the US Capitol.

Content directly from government agencies and health organizations will be exempt from the changes.

“During these initial tests we’ll explore a variety of ways to rank political content in people’s feeds using different signals, and then decide on the approaches we’ll use going forward,” the statement read. “COVID-19 information from authoritative health organizations like the CDC and WHO, as well as national and regional health agencies and services from affected countries, will be exempt from these tests. Content from official government agencies and services will also be exempt.”