Facebook Testing Downvote Button To Flag Inappropriate Comments

Facebook is reportedly testing downvote button to flag inappropriate comments so users can hide them. According to report, since this is still in a testing phase, it is only available to a limited set of public. A spokesperson from Facebook the aim of the downvote button is to create a way for users to provide a signal to Facebook about a comment is inappropriate, uncivil, or misleading.

We are not testing a dislike button. We are exploring a feature for people to give us feedback about comments on public page posts. This is running for a small set of people in the U.S. only.

The company is testing it on 5% of Android users in the U.S. with the language set to English and only appears on public Page posts, not on posts by Groups, public figures or users. According to Facebook, the testing is temporary and does not in anyway affect the ranking of the comment, post, or Page and it is designed as a way to give feedback to Facebook.

How its works, is that when a user taps the downvote button, it will hide the comment and gives users additional reporting options like “Offensive”, “Misleading”, and “Off Topic”. When this is done, it will give Facebook a chance to review the comment to see the comment if it is objectionable, a form of “fake news” or irrelevant.