Update on December 15, 2021 at 9:45AM PT:
Today, as part of our ongoing efforts to provide more visibility into our content ranking processes, we have made the first update to the Content Distribution Guidelines.
Today’s update includes revised definitions of content we identify as borderline and likely violating our community standards, sensational health content and unoriginal video content.
As we continue to evaluate the types of problematic and low-quality content and behavior that we think should receive reduced distribution on our platform, we will regularly make these periodic updates to the Guidelines with amendments archived in the change log. The Guidelines and amendments can both be found in our Transparency Center.
Originally published on September 23, 2021 at 2:00PM PT:
Today, we’re publishing Facebook’s Content Distribution Guidelines to share more detail on how content is distributed on Facebook.
While the Community Standards make it clear what content is removed from Facebook because we don’t allow it on the platform, the Content Distribution Guidelines make it clear what content receives reduced distribution on News Feed because it’s problematic or low quality. Many of these guidelines have been shared in various announcements, but in efforts to provide clarity and make them more accessible, we want to bring them together in one easy-to-navigate space in our Transparency Center.
As we work to improve News Feed, we rely on overarching core values to guide that process. The changes we make, particularly ones focused on limiting the spread of problematic content, are based on extensive feedback from our global community and external experts. Over the last few years, we’ve consulted more than 100 stakeholders across a range of relevant focus areas to solicit feedback on how to bring more insightful transparency to our efforts to reduce problematic content.
We’ve previously discussed our efforts to reduce the distribution of problematic or low-quality content based on the needs of people, creators, and our community. There are three principal reasons why we might reduce the distribution of content:
- Responding to People’s Direct Feedback: We listen to people’s feedback about what they like and don’t like seeing on Facebook and make changes to News Feed in response.
- Incentivizing Creators to Invest in High-Quality and Accurate Content: We want people to have interesting new material to engage with in the long term, so we’re working to set incentives that encourage the creation of these types of content.
- Fostering a Safer Community: Some content may be problematic for our community, regardless of the intent. We’ll make this content more difficult for people to encounter.
What’s Next?
We’ll continue to update the Content Distribution Guidelines to provide people with information about how we define and treat problematic or low-quality content that doesn’t otherwise violate our Community Standards.
How Will This Impact My Page?
Content Distribution Guidelines are already in effect today, some globally and others specific to certain locations. Our Publisher Guidelines continue to provide specific information relevant to creators interested in learning more about distribution on Facebook. We’ll also continue to expand our Page Quality tab to help provide more transparency into policies that may be affecting a Page.