File photo: The Facebook logo is displayed on their website in an illustration photo taken in Bordeaux, France, February 1, 2017. (REUTERS/Regis Duvignau)
Getting your news from Facebook may be getting a little easier. The social media giant has brought its redesigned Trending News section to mobile. Now, both iOS and Android users are able to enjoy the latest stories deemed most popular by fellow Facebook users. Ever since Facebook was accused of making insufficient efforts to stymie the flow of fake news into users' news feeds, the company has made several attempts to revamp its formerly named Trending Topics. And this is the latest manifestation of this work.
If you click on the new Trending News button in the main navigation bar of the iOS app, you'll now see a list of stories organized by the number of likes, comments, and shares the particular topic has received. If you tap on any of these topics, you'll see a carousel of stories from various outlets, alongside videos, photos, and posts from celebrities, influencers, and other public pages.
As Facebook noted back in May when Trending News was first announced, the stories you'll see "are determined the same way as the featured headline -- using a combination of factors including the engagement around the article on Facebook, the engagement around the publisher overall, and whether other articles are linking to it." The company added, "There is no predetermined list of publications that are eligible to appear in Trending and this update does not affect how Trending topics are identified, which weannounced earlier this year."
We should note that this latest update has nothing to do with the selection process of trending topics and news -- only with how it's seen by users. In essence, the addition of this new "Trending News" section on mobile just makes it easier for folks to navigate right over to the stories and headlines.
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As ever, Facebook noted that its continued redesigns are meant to make "Trending as useful and informative for people as possible." After all, with more and more folks turning to social media as their primary news source, it comes as no surprise that Facebook is doubling down on its efforts to ensure that news is delivered fairly.
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