Facebook introduces feature to flag old news articles in midst of advertiser boycott

While a growing group of brands – including Coca-Cola, Diaego, and Unilever – pull advertising dollars from the platform to protest misinformation and hate speech, Facebook has launched a feature that flags old news articles.

When users go to share a news article that is more than 90-days-old, they will now be met with a notification screen alerting them of that fact. Facebook said the global feature will “ensure people have the context they need to make informed decisions about what to share on Facebook”.

“News publishers in particular have expressed concerns about older stories being shared on social media as current news, which can misconstrue the state of current events,” John Hegeman, vice president of feed and stories, wrote in a blog post announcing the decision.