Social media giant Facebook will introduce a feature to all users on mobile and desktop that gives users a list of fact-checked related articles before they are directed to the article they have clicked on in their news feed.
This is in an effort to combat fake news and burst filter bubbles.
"One of our main goals is to support an informed community on Facebook," says Sara Su, Facebook news feed product manager, in a blog post.
"This includes helping people have conversations about the news and giving people more ways to see a more complete picture of a story or topic."
Related articles has been a feature on the platform since 2013, but were simply pieces that were similar in some way to the article read and only appeared after the user was done reading.
"Today, we're beginning to test related articles that might appear before you read an article shared in news feed.
"These additional articles, which appear for topics many people are talking about on Facebook, will appear in a unit below the link. That should provide people easier access to additional perspectives and information, including articles by third-party fact-checkers," says Su.
Su gives the example of when a new medical advancement has gone viral and many people are sharing articles about it. The related articles below would link to pieces from different publishers about the same medical topic.
The feature is still in testing phase and may not appear for everyone right away.
For users who are concerned this new change may impact their page hits, Su says: "We don't anticipate pages will see significant changes in reach. Pages should continue posting stories that are relevant to their audience."
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