Facebook will decrease the number of political posts users see on its platform. AP
Facebook will decrease the number of political posts users see on its platform. AP
Facebook will decrease the number of political posts users see on its platform. AP
Facebook will decrease the number of political posts users see on its platform. AP

Facebook to scale back political content for some users


Willy Lowry
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Facebook will start to reduce the amount of political content a small segment of its users see, the social media platform announced on Wednesday.

The site was under fire in recent weeks after far-right groups in the US used the platform to mobilise and plan attacks on the US Capitol on January 6.

The company said it was looking for ways to improve its news feed function to better allow for users to receive the posts they wanted.

"Over the next few months, we'll work to better understand peoples' varied preferences for political content and test a number of approaches based on those insights," said Aastha Gupta, the company's product management director.

Users in Canada, Brazil and Indonesia will be the testing sites for Facebook's trials, with the US to follow in the coming weeks.

"During these initial tests we'll explore a variety of ways to rank political content in people's feeds using different signals, and then decide on the approaches we'll use going forward," Ms Gupta said.

In the aftermath of the US Capitol riot Facebook started to clamp down on some groups. It banned the hashtag #stopthesteal, which had been used by rioters. It also blocked several controversial accounts, including that of former president Donald Trump.

But a recent study by Tech Transparency Project, a Washington-based organisation that holds large technology companies to scrutiny, found the social media site was still allowing far-right groups to gather under the banner "Patriot Party".

Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg hinted at the end of January that changes would be coming to reduce political content. But it was unclear what those changes would look like.

In the US, political posts make up about 6 per cent of what people see on their timeline, the company said.

The company already has features in place to help users manage what they see, including a snooze function to temporarily hide posts from people or groups.

"But we're always trying to make News Feed better, and this means finding a new balance of the content people want to see," Ms Gupta said.

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers

1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.

MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Manchester United v Barcelona, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5