Facebook is trying to dampen a cringeworthy phenomenon on your timeline: The misguided rage and confusion that happens when people actually believe stuff from sites like “The Onion.”
A few tech bloggers have noticed the new experiment, which places a little [satire] tag next to satirical articles.
A Facebook rep told Ars Technica the tag is a “small test” because “people wanted a clearer way to distinguish satirical articles from others in these units.”
It looks like, if it catches on, the days of people thinking the new Ninja Turtles movie features CGI penises will be numbered.
That, of course, takes away from the rich enjoyment the rest of us experience when we spot some poor sap going on an on about how unbelievable a phony headline is, but with parody sites and articles becoming more common, odds are good that at some point even the most savvy poster will have a “real or not?” moment.
Also, seeing someone fall for The Onion once is kinda funny, but it gets pretty sad from there on out.
The Onion responded to Facebook’s kindhearted gesture with an article titled “Area Facebook User Incredibly Stupid.”
Is that satire too? Let’s post it and find out.
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