Facebook tests a 'downvote' button

Facebook is trialling a 'downvote' button that allows users to signal if a comment is inappropriate or misleading. The new button, which appears to bring Facebook closer to having a 'dislike' button, is currently being tested on five per cent of android users in the US.

Downvote counts aren't shown to the public, but Facebook says it will help the site gauge whether certain posts are inappropriate.

It is not currently known if - or when - the company will expand testing. The company says the new button does not function like a 'dislike' button but works more like a Reddit 'downvote' button.

' We are not testing a dislike button', a Facebook spokesperson said. 'We are explor- ing a feature for people to give us feedback about comments on public page posts.'

It was first spotted by users who noticed the button next to 'like' and 'reply' buttons. When the button is tapped, it hides a com- ment and gives users the option to give a reason why, and could help the company sieve through 'fake news'. The number of downvotes will not be visible and only appear on Page posts, and not posts on Groups or public figures.

Mark Zuckerberg has previously admitted the site is working on a dislike button - but at the time said it was unlikely to be called dislike. 'We didn't want to just build a Dislike button because we don't want to turn Facebook into a forum where people are voting up or down on people's posts', CEO Mark Zuckerberg said back in 2015. He continued that people could use a button designed to express negative sentiment in the 'wrong way', that could be deemed cruel or mean.

Earlier this week, technology experts raised concern about the addictive nature of this online 'community'. Tristan Harris, a former in- house ethicist at Google is spearheading the new group, called the Center for Humane Technology.

The newly-launched initiative, which is working with the nonprofit media watchdog group Common Sense Media, is planning to lobby the US government over tech addiction.

When the button is tapped, it hides a comment and gives users the option to give a reason why, and could help the company sieve through 'fake news'. The number of downvotes will not be visible and only appear on Page posts