Dive Brief:
- Facebook faced some criticism last month for its newsfeed algorithm that favored ALS Ice Bucket Challenge posts over the civil unrest in Ferguson, MO— a point some say makes Twitter a better source for news.
- To counter criticism, Facebook announced a change to the newsfeed algorithm that will push trending topics into the feed more often— including current events, sporting events, TV shows, and more.
- Items posted by friends will still have more influence, however. For example, if a Facebook friend posts about a news event, it has a high change of appearing in the newsfeed.
Dive Insight:
Some studies have shown that as many as 65% of adults get their news from social media now, so it's almost a civil responsibility for Facebook to deliver real news stories. Facebook also needs to stay current in order to compete with Twitter and other platforms.
