Facebook is testing out a satire tag in a bid to ensure that when a
user shares a link to a comedy news article, everyone who clicks through
is in on the joke.
Many web users of a certain age despise emoticons, but they provide a
very pertinent service in a world where the majority of our
communication is now text-based.
A text message followed by a yellow, winking face makes it clear that
the message is a joke, or not to be taken seriously. Likewise, receiving
LOL as a response to something you've just said makes it clear that it
was recognized as a joke.
However, things are not so clear when it comes to sharing links to
articles on Facebook, particularly if the article in question originated
on
The Onion or another well-known satirical site.
In fact, taking the contents of a shared Onion article as literal is so common that there's a website, called
Literally Unbelievable, dedicated to capturing misinformed comments to misunderstood articles across Facebook.
To help users avoid such a fate, Facebook is currently testing a
'satire' tag "because we received feedback that people wanted a clearer
way to distinguish satirical articles from others," a spokesperson told
Ars Technica.
If a link to a satirical article is posted or shared, it won't be
tagged. However, if you click on the link and read the piece, returning
to your newsfeed will offer a list of related articles that are all
clearly labeled as 'satire.'
In addition to confusing some social media users, The Onion's ability to fool has also led to two
Bangladeshi newspapers
running articles claiming that Neil Armstrong had confessed to the
Apollo moon landings being nothing more than an elaborate hoax.
