【Anne Marie Gonzales Archives】

Facebook wants to burst your filter bubble.

A new patent — filed last March but Anne Marie Gonzales Archivesjust made public — details one way Facebook may push back on political echo chambers in its News Feed. Titled "Systems and Methods for Providing Diverse Content," the patent explains how Facebook could use its News Feed to surface alternative viewpoints about political content.

SEE ALSO: Americans' relationship status with Facebook: 'It's Complicated'

In essence, the tool described would detect content that's overtly political — like that mentioning a specific candidate in an upcoming election — and automatically display the positions of other candidates in the same race, along with their names and photos.

"For example, during a presidential election, if a user expresses interest in a newsfeed or article relating to a presidential candidate's position on gun control (or any other political issue), the user may be automatically presented with a listing of each candidate's position on gun control," the patent says.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"The user is thus presented with a spectrum of opinions surrounding the topic of gun control from different angles. As a result, the user would be better informed with respect to the topic and would be in a better position to draw his/her own conclusions."

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Importantly, this additional information would be automatically surfaced only when Facebook detects that you're likely to agree with the views expressed in a particular piece of content (the patent notes it will take your interactions into account, such as clicking on a news story or sharing it with a friend).

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Facebook didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the patent and whether or not the feature could be implemented ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. But the social network has experimented with similar tools in the past, like the "related articles" feature that showed up in tests last year. That feature would detect popular stories shared across Facebook and surface similar articles about the same topic when one link was shared. The idea, according to Facebook at the time was to "provide people easier access to additional perspectives and information, including articles by third-party fact checkers."

Facebook's latest patent takes this a step further, though, in that it specifically addresses political issues and candidates. Instead of simply surfacing a similar story from in alternative news source, it gives specific information about where different candidates stand on a divisive issues, like gun control.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

It's a significant move for the company, which has long been criticized for enabling the kind of political echo chambers that have helped fake news spread on the social network. Despite Mark Zuckerberg's initial reluctance to accept the existence of these self-reinforcing filter bubbles, studies have shown just how destructive they can be.

Whether or not features like this are actually useful, though, is less clear. People may be less likely to engage with a competing viewpoint regardless of whether or not Facebook puts in right in front of them. And even Facebook's patent indicates that users may be able to hide the tool showing candidates' positions in the first place.

Still, it shows that Facebook is finally taking its filter bubble problem seriously.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Facebook's data breach and what it means for you — Technically Speaking

---

Topics Facebook Social Media

• Life
• Science
• Games
• Deals
• Digital Culture
• Social Good
• Shopping
• Tech

• Best Hydro Flask deal: Save $10 on a 24
• New photographic evidence may mean Amelia Earhart survived her plane crash
• Hillary Clinton's latest burn shows just how horrible the GOP is at Twitter
• Woman's Twitter request for a wedding date ends in an adorable love story
• Apple iPhone 17 Pro leaks highlight major new design change
• FBI warns of look
• Lena Dunham describes painful decision to re
• The best 1990s shows on Netflix
• Every MCU movie villain ranked, from "Iron Man" to "Thunderbolts*"
• 2000s things we miss, from iPods to MySpace Tom

• What We’re Loving: Stèles, Cellpoems, Converse by The Paris Review
• Secret Doctrines by Ezra Glinter
• Scandal at the (Old) OED, and Other News by Sadie Stein
• The Dying Sea by Karim Kattan
• Did YOU Vote, John Doe? by Sadie Stein
• Letter from Coney Island by Mark McPherson
• Falling Overboard by Robin Beth Schaer
• Stephen King: The Musical, and Other News by Sadie Stein
• Walker Percy's Hurricane by Spencer Woodman
• In Honor of Jonathan Swift … by Sadie Stein

• Best soundbar deal: Save $300 on the Sonos Arc
• How the hottest, most extreme temperatures in the world are verified
• Poor little dog had to be rescued from lagoon 2 times by police officers
• TikTok confirms plan to sue the Trump administration over U.S. ban
• AMD Radeon RX 550 + Intel Pentium G4560
• Sega’s Dreamcast is the unsung gaming hero of the 2000s
• Everything coming to Hulu in September 2020
• Everything coming to HBO Max in September 2020
• Amazon Book Sale: Shop early deals now
• HBO's 'The Vow' is a cautionary look at the NXIVM cult's downfall

• The Amazon Book Sale is coming April 23 through 28
• This guy hid an awesome Easter Egg in a week's worth of tweets
• Hobby Lobby buying smuggled Iraqi artifacts is too much for the internet to handle
• Epic continues Apple feud by giving away Android devices in #FreeFortnite tournament
• The cicadas aren't invading the U.S.
• Your laptop is now allowed on U.S. flights from Dubai and Istanbul
• Once again, here's why people should think twice about riding elephants
• Gaga's "The Fame Monster" unmasked the bad romance of 00s celebrity
• NYT Strands hints, answers for April 26
• Poor little dog had to be rescued from lagoon 2 times by police officers