Facebook Ensures Friends and Family Come First in News Feed

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) published a news article that explains how the social network giant decides which posts are displayed first in users’ News Feed.

The move came after anonymous allegations that it was suppressing stories of interests to conservatives on its Trending Topics section. Facebook strongly denied the allegations and pointed out that it has rigorous guidelines to ensure neutrality.

The publication of the News Feed Values showed that the social network giant is raising its standard of transparency. Facebook is also making sure that people understands that connecting people with friends and family remains the driving principle of News Feed.

Getting the ranking right is critical for Facebook

Adam Mosseri, vice president of product management, News Feed explained that Facebook is ranking stories on News Feed because people are sharing too much information every day. Its objective in ranking the stories is to ensure that people can see what they care about first and will not miss stuff from their family and friends.

“If the ranking is off, people don’t engage and leave dissatisfied. So one of our most important jobs is getting this ranking right,” said Mosseri.

According to Mosseri, they are relying on a set of core values when making improvements to News Feed. Those values have been guiding them for years. According to him, “In our continued efforts to be transparent about how we think about News Feed, we want to share those values with you.

News Feed Values

Friends and Family Comes First—remains the driving principle of News Feed. Facebook’s top priority is to keep people connected with their family and friends on its platform.

Facebook also noted that people have two other strong expectations aside from family and friends when checking their News Feed. They expect the stories to be informative/ meaningful and entertaining.

A Platform for All Ideas— Facebook emphasized that it is the business of connecting people and ideas and matching people with the stories they find most meaningful. The social network giant said its integrity depend on being inclusive of all perspectives and viewpoints. It does not favor specific sources or ideas.

Authentic Communication—Real stories resonate the most based on people’s feedback. The company is working hard to understand what type of stories and posts they consider genuine to show more of them in News Feed. It is also working to reduce misleading, sensational and spammy posts.

You Control Your Experience—Facebook users can control what’s meaningful to them. They can customize their experience by using the available features such as “unfollow, hide, and see first.”

Constant Iteration— the social network giant is dedicated in improving News Feed. It is constantly looking for ways to make it better and soliciting feedback.

Mosseri said, “We will be as open as we can — providing explanations in News Feed FYI wherever possible and looking for opportunities to share how we work.”