Facebook starts test with ‘read before you share’ pop-up

Facebook is going to start a test, in which the company will show a pop-up if people want to share links to articles they have not read. Sharing unread articles will still be possible if people click ‘continue’ in the pop-up.

Showing the popup should get people to read the article first, according to the company. Facebook sees it as a way “for a more informed way of sharing articles” on the platform. It is unknown whether the pop-up will be available immediately in the Benelux. It is currently a test, so not all users will see the pop-up immediately.

Facebook follows with the move to Twitter, which implemented such a feature in September last year. Twitter had already tested the function at the time. People would be 40 percent more likely open an article after they see the notification. The number of people who first opened an article before retweeting it rose by 33 percent. Also, sometimes people would not have posted the retweets after opening the article in question. Twitter does not give percentages of that.

Facebook: read before share, May 2021