Big news from Facebook's town-hall meeting: According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a "dislike" button on Facebook is reportedly in the works.
"Probably hundreds of people have asked about this," Zuckerberg said during his speech, "and today is a special day because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it, and are very close to shipping a test of it."
CNBC reports that the purpose of the button isn't to vote something down or express dislike of a post, a la Reddit. Instead, Zuckerberg says the button allow users to respond to posts in more complex ways, like expressing empathy for tough moments. "If you are sharing something that is sad…then it may not feel comfortable to 'like' that post," Zuckerberg says.
Just last year, Zuckerberg claimed that Facebook won't have a dislike button, because the company needed to "figure out the right way to do it so it ends up being a force for good, not a force for bad." How the company plans on creating a system to avoid "downvoting" and negativity has yet to be revealed, but we imagine the term "dislike" ultimately won't be used.
The social-media company will reportedly test the new feature soon, prior to a widespread implementation. Get ready, internet trolls — we can only hope you'll be disappointed.
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