

It all depends on what Facebook thinks users want to see. Over the years, algorithm ranking signals have been added, removed, and had their importance adjusted. Part of their work is to improve the algorithms that connect Facebook users with the most valuable content for them. Meta has a whole team of people working on artificial intelligence and machine learning. A brief history of the Facebook algorithm Controversy often gets the highest engagement and can even trigger “compulsive use” of the platform.Īnd as far back as 2018, critics feared the algorithm was increasing outrage, divisiveness and political polarization while promoting misinformation and borderline content.įor its part, Facebook says the algorithm is all about helping users “discover new content and connect with the stories they care the most about,” while “ keep spam and misleading content at bay.” As you’ll see below, recent Facebook algorithm changes have aimed to address concerns about content, as well as privacy. In fact, Facebook faced heat in 2021 because the algorithm was prioritizing controversial content. But we do know that-like all social media recommendation algorithms-one of its goals is to keep people on the platform, so that they see more ads. We don’t know all the details of how the Facebook algorithm decides what to show people (and what not to show people).

This process happens every time a user-and there are 2.9 billion of them-refreshes their feed. It scores posts and then arranges them in descending, non-chronological order of interest for each individual user.

The Facebook algorithm determines which posts people see every time they check their Facebook feed, and in what order those posts show up.Įssentially, the Facebook algorithm evaluates every post. Bonus: Download a free guide that teaches you how to turn Facebook traffic into sales in four simple steps using Hootsuite.
