Facebook is rolling out a new measure to combat the sharing and spread of spam and hoaxes in users' News Feeds, according to TechRadar.
This update to the News Feed comprises the addition of an option to report false and malicious content. But instead of removing the reported posts, Facebook will only allow them "reduced distribution" in News Feed.
"This works in the same way as reporting a story as spam. When you click to hide a story you also have the option to report the content. Stories that include scams, or deliberately misleading news, are reported two and a halt times more often than links to other news stories," the blog post reads.
"To reduce the number of these types of posts, News Feed will take into account when many people flag a post as false. News Feed will also take into account when many people choose to delete posts. This means a post with a link to an article that many people have reported as a hoax or chosen to delete will get reduced distribution in News Feed," the post continues.
This new update is the social network's response to feedback from people who "want to see fewer stories that are hoaxes or misleading news," according to a report by CNET.
The new measure will cover links, pictures, videos and status updates.
Satire, meanwhile, will not be affected by the update. Facebook said that according to its tests, most users do not report satirical content that is ostensibly meant to be funny, as well as those that are clearly satirical in nature.
"The goal of News Feed is to catch up with your friend and find the things that matter to you," the blog post reads. "We're always looking to people on Facebook to tell us how we can improve this experience."