Facebook says new algorithm will 'reduce political content' on news feeds

Facebook announced on Wednesday the social media platform will in the coming weeks start limiting the amount of political content viewers see on their news feeds.

The company is aware that "people don’t want political content to take over their News Feed," Product Management Director Aastha Gupta wrote in a blog post on the site.

The change will begin with Facebook temporarily reduce the distribution of political content in News Feed for a small percentage of people in Canada, Brazil and Indonesia this week.

Gupta said the process will begin in the U.S. in the coming weeks.

The initial rollout will allow the company to explore different methods of ranking political content prior to its deciding on a permanent solution. 

Facebook has in recent months and years attempted to reducing political content, include no new political ads in the final week of the 2020 presidential campaign. However, the company and other social media giants have meanwhile faced growing scrutiny of what third-party content they choose to censure or block. 

"Our goal is to preserve the ability for people to find and interact with political content on Facebook, while respecting each person’s appetite for it at the top of their News Feed," Gupta said.