Angela Lang / CNET
This story is part of 2020 elections, CNET's coverage of the November vote and its aftermath.
In the days following the November 3rd US election, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg reportedly approved an emergency change to the social network's algorithm to make relevant news more prominent in people's news feeds. The move was taken to reduce the spread of election misinformation that went viral on the social network, according to a report in the New York Times on Tuesday.
Facebook has reportedly added weight to an internal ranking assigned to publishers known as News Ecosystem Quality scores or NEQ scores. This led to an increase in visibility for mainstream publishers like CNN, The New York Times, and NPR, and decreased the visibility of sites like Breitbart and Occupy Democrats, according to the Times.
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During a staff meeting the week after the election, some Facebook employees asked whether the "nicer newsfeed" could stay, according to the Times.
It is unclear if or when the algorithm change will be reversed. Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The internet was flooded with misinformation after the internet US presidential election. President Donald Trump has repeatedly made false claims that the election was stolen on social media, prompting Twitter to put warning signs on several posts. In addition, unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud from various sources have surfaced on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
In addition to the reported algorithm change, Facebook has taken several public steps to address election-related misinformation, including close large groups promote false electoral fraud claims, Limiting Political Ads and direct people to election information from authoritative sources. Facebook has reportedly prepared several tools to help Calm all post-election unrest in the USA.
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